I was a gold last year, and actually, for the last few, solely as a result of my Gold status with United and the RewardsPlus program. I only made silver with UA this year, and as such, expected my Marriott status would completely drop.

Was surprised to log in a few days ago and find out my status with Marriott is silver. I don't think it provides much (aside from points bonus for stays), so maybe not that big a deal for Marriott, and obviously, I'll take what I can get. But is it normal to be soft landed like this?

I think I stayed 6 nights at Marriott properties last year, with 1 or maybe 2 nights at SPG (but I don't know that this factors into anything). Probably pretty mid-tier rate - nothing super low, but definitely not the most expensive/flexible rates, so I'd think I'm not particularly valuable to Marriott either way. Last stay was all the way back in April, as I haven't been traveling as much in the last half of 2017. So was surprised to see this. Couldn't find a thread discussing. so also wondering if other people had the same.

Yes, they normally do give a soft landing. If you have the MR Visa card, that gives 15 nights by itself-automatic silver.