Bears quarterback Jay Cutler made some comments recently at a football camp about his former Bronco teammate Brandon Marshall and now several media outlets are trying to drum up the idea that Cutler is campaigning for Chicago to trade for the wideout.

This is what Cutler said:

“I played with Brandon for three years and I think he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL. I think he can be one of the greatest ever to play.

“He’s big and fast, and can do everything you want him to do, on the field and in the meeting room. I don’t know what we’re going to do. That’s up to the guys upstairs. If we make a run at him, we make a run at him.”

Cutler also made it clear that he has a lot of faith in current Chicago receiver Devin Hester:

“I’ve watched every game from last year and seen him in action quite a bit,” Cutler said. “It’s a tough transition from (defensive back) to receiver. He’s still learning, but overall I can’t be happier with how we’re working together and his progression.

“I think he’s definitely a legitimate No. 1 receiver in the NFL.”

That’s it – that’s what Jay said. To me, that’s not Cutler campaigning for Chicago to make a play for Marshall – that’s Cutler stating that Marshall is a great receiver and if the Bears do make a move for him, then so be it.

But even if Cutler were making a case for his new team to trade for his old teammate, it wouldn’t matter because Marshall isn’t going to Chicago. The Bears simply don’t have enough trade pieces to send to Denver because they already traded away two first round picks to acquire Cutler. So unless the Bears would be willing to give up linebacker Brian Urlacher or another veteran of his ilk, then Marshall is headed for another destination other than the “Windy City.”

Furthermore, Chicago GM Jerry Angelo has already stated that the Bears won’t go after Marshall. Sure, he could change his mind. But it would seem at this point that Plaxico Burress is more of an option for the Bears than Marshall is given that Burress would require no compensation to acquire and the team could simply dump him at the end of ’09 assuming they sign him to only a one-year deal. (Theoretically, the Bears could do the same for Marshall because he’ll be a free agent after 2009 too, but why trade for him if you’re not going to sign him to a long-term deal?)

The media is trying hard to make story here, but there isn’t one at this point. There are no signs that Marshall is going to Chicago.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, Plaxico Burress has expressed interest in joining the Buccaneers in 2009. He has already reached out to former teammate Derrick Ward and has also spoken with Antonio Bryant about possibly joining the Bucs (not that either of those players have any bearing on whether or not the team will sign Burress).

If Tampa wants to take the risk on the leg shooter, then they’d have a decent amount of weapons on offense in Plax, Bryant and tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. Of course, the three would also make one hell of a combustible combination and any one of them would be liable to cause a distraction at a moment’s notice.

Some believe that the Bears also remain interested in Burress, but I can’t see GM Jerry Angelo pulling the trigger (pun definitely intended) on a move like that. If Chicago wanted to add a pain in the ass wide receiver to its roster, why not trade for Brandon Marshall (assuming they even have enough trade pieces to make a dal) and pair him with Jay Cutler?

Either way, it’s looking more and more than Burress will play next season. His trial case has been adjourned until September, which means he could still play in 2009, although there’s still a good chance the NFL will suspend him, too.