Rampage hoping to bring back Marshall
Chip Burch
Tuesday September 11, 2007
The Grand Rapids Rampage would like to sign him as soon as the free agent signing period begins.
Rampage general manager Scott Woodruff said he would like to sign Marshall “very badly and not just for what he does on the field but off of it too. He's a tremendous person.”
Marshall signed a three-year contract with the Bears on June 5th after leading the Rampage in touchdowns (35) in and finishing second in receiving yards (1,134) behind Cornelius Bonner. He’s also led the Arena Football League in kick return yards (1,901) and kick return touchdowns (6).
However Marshall didn’t get much of a chance with the Bears.
“I never really got an opportunity as far as the amount of reps,” he said. “I was kind of the odd man out. I kind of knew it was coming because of the limited amount of opportunities I had.”
Marshall played in only two pre-season games with the Bears, and had one kickoff return for 14 yards and one punt return for no yards against the Houston Texans and adding a punt return for 12 yards against the San Francisco. Marshall was waived by the Bears Aug. 27.
“It was probably a numbers game,” said Bears media relations director Jim Christman. “We have a lot of incumbent receivers from the team that went to the Super Bowl.”
“I think they decided to go with the same team they went with last year,” Marshall said.
When Marshall signed with the Bears the Rampage were forced to release him, Woodruff said.
“What happened is a couple of years ago the league made a rule change where if a player is under contract and wants to go to a pro team while the AFL season is going on his AFL team has to release him,” he said, referring to the rule as the “Mike Furrey Rule.” “We knew the downside was he would be.”
The downside is that he can sign with any team in the AFL, but not right away.
“We're not allowed to speak with players until the free agent contact period starts. That date hasn't been set yet, but I suspect it will be in October,” Woodruff said.
Woodruff pegged his chances of signing Marshall as “I think real good.”
Marshall, though, wasn’t committing to the Rampage.
“I want to maximize my opportunity and take the best deal that's for me,” he said. “My first priority will be returning to Grand Rapids.”
The things that will help Marshall decide is “Just the community and where it's close to home, the amount of total compensation,” he said. “I'm definitely going to visit other teams to see what it's going to be like.”
The Rampage have a new coach in Steve Thonn, the former offensive coordinator of the Georgia Force.
“They have a great guy in Steve Thonn,” Marshall said. “I'll visit with them also and I'll see if that's a system that will have success. With a new coaching staff they may want their own guys.”
Chip Burch has been covering the Rampage since 2005. He is a sports reporter for WSCG AM-FM in Greenville Michigan, where he currently resides.
