Bears' Ryan Pace: Brandon Marshall departure for the best

The Bears might have had to sweeten the Brandon Marshall trade with a seventh-round draft pick just to acquire the Jets’ fifth-round choice, but general manager Ryan Pace said that was “fair” value for the controversial wide receiver.

He said his decision to trade the Bears’ single-season receiving yards leader was beneficial both for the team and for Marshall himself, who he described as “understanding” of the trade.

“He’s a good football player,” Pace said Wednesday at Halas Hall. “And, going forward, we felt this was the best for us, and quite frankly, it’s the best situation for him, too. So that’s where we’re at.”

He was vague when asked the factors he considered in trading him.

“It was just analyzing the whole roster and looking — ‘Hey, what’s best for the Chicago Bears and what’s best for Brandon Marshall?’” he said. “And that was our decision going forward.”

Last season, Marshall shuttled to New York to tape a weekly television show, argued with players and coaches and held an awkward press conference to refute an old domestic violence charge.

Asked how Marshall’s departure would affect the locker room, Pace said it was hard to tell.

“We’re building this thing going forward,” he said. “We have a lot of time, guys. free agency’s occurring as we’re speaking. We have the draft going forward, as we’re speaking. So we have a lot of time to continue to build the roster and build the chemistry and build the locker room.

“So to speak exactly on how that changes the locker room, I’m not too sure about that.”