The Brandon Marshall Problem

As like many Broncos fans, I've been doing a lot of thinking since our season ended about whether the organization should or should not trade Brandon Marshall.  Literally every day I change my mind on what direction the organization should do.

I have the exact opposite opinion of Brandon than I do Kyle Orton.  See, Kyle Orton is a great person.  He is a humble, true team guy, and leads by example.  When he was benched for Grossman in Chicago, not even a peep came from his mouth even though the whole country knew that Orton was the Bears best option.  When he was traded for Jay Cutler he knew that Bronco fans were enraged and he was going to get a lot of criticism.  Once again not even a peep was heard from Orton as he immediately flew to Denver and started working out.  My problems with Kyle Orton are his physical limitations on the field, mainly the deep ball. (Example: The Washington game was lost on an overthrow to Eddie Royal)

Brandon Marshall is the exact opposite.  Yes he is underpaid.  I understand this.  He is super talented.  He may be the strongest player at his position in the entire NFL.  He is a perennial Pro Bowler.  However Brandon Marshall the person I cannot support.  I'm tired of the "I changed" routine Brandon Marshall goes through every off season.  He obviously has anger issues of some kind, which have resulted in domestic disturbances, and an assault charge. His actions also may have lead directly to the murder of Darrent Williams depending on what you believe happened.

But he is a football player and one of the best, so parting ways with him is not as easy as it seems.

Will Denver part ways with Brandon Marshall?

As said before, we would be parting with one of the best after-the-catch playmakers in the whole NFL.  That kind of production cannot be overlooked.  In Josh McDaniel's short passing offense Brandon Marshall's value is extremely high.  Obviously trading him would be difficult because of the risk the other team will have to take on in addition to extending Brandon with a top contract, roughly nine million per year. That's a lot of jack for a wide receiver that may not play a down for you if he gets in another heated argument with his fiancee' this off season.  As you can tell it will be darn near impossible for the Broncos to get proper value for one of the best wide receivers in the game because of these issues.

Many are speculating that Baltimore would trade a first and third round pick for Brandon Marshall.  I truly doubt it.  The last time they traded for a troubled WR, Terrell Owens, a lot of drama ensued and the team has only taken on one big name player with character issues since in Willis McGahee.  I truly doubt that Ozzie Newsome is dumb enough to tie up multiple draft picks and 50 plus million dollars in Brandon Marshall. 

The only team that trades for Brandon Marshall is the Cincinnati Bengals.  Marvin Lewis thinks he can fix anyone and they have a glaring need for a playmaking receiver. Other than that, the Broncos are tied to Brandon Marshall through his restricted free agency and into 2010.

So what is the solution?  I think Brandon Marshall is franchised through 2010 and is ultimately left to walk free in 2011.  Franchising Brandon will quiet his contract demands for at least a season. No doubt he will pull the "I changed" card again and try to get an extension but I do not think the Broncos listen.  The veterans on this team have already spoke and asked their head coach to bench their best player in what was for all intents and purposes a playoff game.  That speaks volumes in regards to the kind of support Marshall has from his own teammates.

I believe Brandon Marshall will be a Bronco next season and the Broncos will definitely be a better team on the field for it.  However it might come at a high cost on and off the field for this franchise.