Brandon Marshall Re-Signs with Broncos: Latest Contract Details, Reaction

Having already used the franchise tag on Von Miller, the Denver Broncos retained another key defender Tuesday, agreeing to terms on a four-year deal worth $32 million to re-sign Brandon Marshall.  

Mike Klis of 9News originally reported the deal, noting Marshall landed a $10 million signing bonus, while Troy Renck of the Denver Post spoke to Marshall, who confirmed the terms of the deal, with $20 million guaranteed.

"We're thrilled to agree to terms with Brandon on a four-year extension," executive vice president and general manager John Elway said in a team release. "Brandon's become an integral part of our defense over the last three years and has put in a lot of hard work into becoming such a key player on our team.

"We congratulate Brandon and look forward to him being a Bronco for many more years."

ESPN's Trey Wingo reported on March 6 the Broncos used a second-round tender on Marshall, meaning any team that signed him would have to surrender a second-round pick. The Chicago Sun-Times' Patrick Finley assumed that was the end of any team's pursuit of Marshall:

As good as Marshall is, that pick—on top of his salary—would've been a steep price to pay for his services.

On June 9, Klis reported the time was running out for Marshall to sign the $2.5 million tender. Otherwise, he would've only been looking at just a little over than the $585,000 he earned last year to stay in Denver.

Marshall broke through in 2014, posting a team-best 113 combined tackles. This was after the 26-year-old appeared in six games and made three tackles in his first two seasons in the league. Almost nobody foresaw Marshall becoming an integral piece of the Broncos defense, and he provided Denver with a nice silver lining after Danny Trevathan missed most of the year.

Marshall's strong play continued into 2015, when he finished with 102 combined tackles and two forced fumbles.

He explained to Fox Sports' Mike Garafolo that some of his rise is traced back to getting cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars and, just before that, something told to him by then-Jags linebackers coach Mark Duffner in October of last year:

"

He said, "You have to get your stuff together because I don't know if you're going to make it, if this is for you." I got upset. I got mad. I didn't want to yell or say something I shouldn't say, so I just kept it in internally and used that for motivation. That was fuel to the fire. I'll never forget he said that. To this day I still think about it.

"

Of course, Marshall's improvement was a double-edged sword for Denver. Sure, it was great that he played well, but it meant he was certain to see a nice pay raise.

During an interview on NFL HQ in February (via NFL.com's Conor Orr), Marshall discussed his desire to cash in on his success on the field:

"

I would definitely love my bank account to grow in these next few months -- I would love that. Me and my agent have been talking, we'll see what happens. But I would love to stay in Denver. I grew up a Broncos fan. I love the Broncos. I love the organization and community, so I'd love to stay in Denver. We'll definitely see what happens.

"

"This means the world," Marshall told Renck. "It means everything to me to be a Bronco."

Elway has done a great job moving around money in order to keep his best players and continued that trend with re-signing Marshall. Much like the Seattle Seahawks learned a few years ago, Elway and the Broncos are quickly realizing how difficult it can be to keep a core of players around in today's NFL.

In that sense, drafting Paxton Lynch was a shrewd move. They could've traded for Sam Bradford or Colin Kaepernick, but the cost to do so would've been high. Bradford signed a two-year, $36 million deal with the Philadelphia Eagles, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, while Kaepernick still has a lot of money left on that six-year, $126 million deal he signed with the San Francisco 49ers, per Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio.

By going with a cost-controlled rookie rather than a high-priced veteran, Elway left himself with enough wiggle room to work out a new deal with Marshall. According to Over the Cap, the Broncos had a little over $5.8 million in cap space available for the 2016 season.

Especially with how the rest of the offseason has unfolded, the team could ill afford to watch another starter leave after Trevathan and Malik Jackson signed deals with other teams. With the question mark at quarterback, the Broncos will need all the defensive help they can get in order to repeat last year's title triumph, so re-signing Marshall on a long-term team is the right move for Denver.