FOXSports.com’s John Czarnecki writes that there’s no way that Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll will part with the sixth overall pick for Brandon Marshall.

Remember when Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall flew to Seattle once free agency began? Well, the Seahawks checked him out, but still haven’t made an offer. Yes, Marshall is available, but the asking price is steep. At minimum a first-round draft choice and there’s no way that Pete Carroll is parting with the sixth overall pick for a disgruntled receiver who really can’t stretch the field. The Seahawks already have enough of those types of receivers: overpaid route runners!

Is it just me or does Czarnecki’s reports usually leave a little something to be desired? He has the access to provide good information but the follow through usually comes up short. It’s almost like he fails to look at all the information before formulating his opinions.

Even though the Seahawks brought Marshall in for a visit a couple weeks ago, it makes no sense for them to put together an offer sheet when no other team has shown interest yet. Why would they compete against themselves in a trade like that? Plus, Czarnecki fails to mention that Seattle also has the 14th overall pick, which allows them to keep their selection at No. 6 and still attempt to work out a trade for Marshall. If they could get another team involved, the Seahawks could trade the No. 14 selection for a later first round pick, get more compensation (whether it be another second or third rounder) and then trade whatever first round pick they acquire from the third team to Denver for Marshall.

So while I agree with the sentiment that Carroll won’t give up the No. 6 overall pick for Marshall, he could still do a lot with No. 14.

Lastly, I wouldn’t call Marshall a true speedster but he can certainly stretch the field. I think what Czarnecki is confused about is the fact that Marshall isn’t explosive off the ball, which gives people the impression that he’s not a true deep threat. But he has more than enough speed and once he gets into full stride, his long legs allow him to create separation from defensive backs. So to insinuate that Marshall would just be another “overpaid route runner” is absolutely ridiculous.

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Via his Twitter page, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Bengals have contemplated pursuing restricted free agent Brandon Marshall, although no visit has been arranged yet.

Despite that report, Bengals’ beat writer Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes that the rumors on Marshall to the Bengals are mostly a smoke screen meant to drive up the price for the Seahawks, who hosted Marshall over the weekend.

Not to discredit Reedy’s reporting, but why would the Bengals want to drive up the price for the Seahawks? Seattle plays in a completely different conference than Cincinnati and one would think that the Bengals would be concentrating on signing their own free agents instead of faking interest in Marshall just to tease the Seahawks. But who knows at this point.

Schefter also writes that his ESPN collegue Mike Tirico recently bumped into Marshall in Denver and the receiver said the visit to Seattle was “great.” Marshall apparently also told Tirico that he is still very open to saying in Denver.

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Things could be heating up on the Brandon Marshall trade front. Here’s what we know so far:

- On Saturday, Marshall was reportedly in Seattle doing a meet-and-greet with the Seahawks. While they didn’t sign the restricted free agent to an offer sheet, the Seattle Times speculates that the Seahawks would send the No. 6 overall pick in April’s draft to the Broncos for Marshall.

If that sounds far-fetched, it’s probably because it is. In fact, ESPN NFC West beat writer Mike Sando says that he would be shocked if the Hawks parted with their top pick, although that doesn’t mean the two sides can’t work out another trade if Marshall is signed to an offer sheet.

- Mike Lombardi of the National Football Post writes that the Seahawks could have competition for Marshall shortly, although he doesn’t say which teams could be interested. The very reliable Rotoworld.com speculates that the Patriots, Falcons and Bengals make sense.

Out of the three teams Rotoworld mentions, I think the Patriots and Bengals do make sense, although I highly doubt the Falcons would join the party. While they would love to add another big time playmaker opposite Roddy White, I doubt they’ll part with their first round pick (19th overall) to address the offensive side of the ball with holes at outside linebacker and defensive end. GM Thomas Dimitroff would like to continue his rebuilding project on defense and it makes it harder for him to do that without a first round pick. I think Dunta Robinson was the only big splash the Falcons will make this offseason.

We’ll monitor this situation next week and see if a) the Seahawks eventually sign Marshall to an offer sheet and/or b) another team joins the race.

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According to the Chicago Tribune, the Bears met with the player rep for free agent Julius Peppers last weekend. While this might be music to fans’ ears, if this is true then the meeting could be constituted as tampering.

Teams like to meet with player reps before free agency kicks off in order to establish a relationship with the rep’s client. Technically, teams can’t start negotiating with free agents until March 5, but deals always happen at midnight the day of, so clearly teams are in communication with reps and agents before then. The problem arises when the team gets caught negotiating before that time, so chances are the Bears will deny the Tribune’s report, whether it’s true or not.

On a related note, Neil Hayes of the Chicago Sun-Times writes that at least one NFL source believes that Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall will end up a Bear in 2010. Hayes didn’t go into much detail outside of noting that the NFL source wagered a “steak dinner” on Marshall landing in Chicago.

Marshall is a fit for the Bears just based on the relationship he has with quarterback Jay Cutler. Plus, Mike Martz would certainly love to reunite the pair in his offense.

But the problem is that the Bears don’t have a first or second round pick in this year’s draft. So unless Denver is willing to take a third rounder and a package of air fresheners in exchange for Marshall, Chicago would either have to sweeten the pot with a player or two, or hand over a pick in the 2011 draft.

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ESPN’s John Clayton was recently asked whether or not Brandon Marshall would be a good fit in New England and this is what the Professor had to say:

“He’s perfect for the Patriots’ offense and would add excitement to the division. Julian Edelman should develop into a nice slot receiver. I don’t know if he will be as good as Welker, but he can be very effective. The Patriots left themselves short of receiving talent last year after Moss and Welker. Adding a great receiver such as Marshall would be intriguing. They hit the jackpot in trades for Welker and Moss. Why not roll the dice a third time?”

I think Marshall would be a good fit for any team. He’s a rare talent and a true go-to receiver in every sense of the word. He has mastered how to use his body to screen opponents from the ball while making plays in traffic and while he’s not explosive, he uses long strides to build speed and run away from defenders in the open field.

The problem is that Marshall is a freaking coconut. His mood changes with the seasons and he’s been a headache off the field since he entered the league. Nobody questions his talent; they question the thing between his ears and that’s why the Broncos have been hesitant to commit to him long-term.

I agree with everything Clayton says about Marshall being a good fit in New England. He would be accountable to Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, he would benefit from playing alongside Wes Welker and he would allow the Patriots to get younger at receiver – of course he’d be a great fit. But that doesn’t mean the Pats would want to fork over a draft pick (or multiple draft picks) and a new contract in order to acquire him from Denver. A lot would obviously go into a decision like that, including whether or not Marshall would behave himself after getting paid.

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In a surprise reversal of attitude, Broncos’ receiver Brandon Marshall admitted to the Denver Post that he was unprofessional last season in his actions.

“Learning from last year and last offseason, I approached things unprofessional,” Marshall said today at the Super Bowl XLIV media center. “This offseason I’m just going to go with the flow and just go in whatever direction the Broncos want to go.”

Marshall was an unhappy Bronco last year when he protested his contract situation by holding out from a mandatory minicamp in June and acting up during a preseason practice in August. He put his issues behind him to make 101 catches through 15 games, but he found more trouble in the season’s final week.

When he tweaked his hamstring in a Wednesday practice, and showed up 20 minutes late for treatment on Friday morning, Marshall was deactivated from the final game against Kansas City.

Is Marshall now having second thoughts about leaving the Broncos?

“I don’t know if I would call it, second thoughts,” Marshall said. “Last year I handled things totally wrong. I just looked at the business side of things and took things too personally. This year I’m going to remove myself from the situation and let the Broncos decide the direction we’re going to go in as an organization.”

There’s a possibility that Marshall has seen the error of his ways and is taking the necessary steps in order to turn around his attitude and look at things more realistically. But chances are, somebody (his agent?) got to him and told him that he needs to toe the company line until the Broncos trade him, or else he’ll never gets what he wants, which is a new contract.

The problem is that no matter how pleasant Marshall seems in interviews this offseason, teams are already well aware of the risk they’ll take if they try and acquire him. His track record speaks for itself and considering that his attitude soured last year as soon as the Broncos started losing, I don’t think teams will be fooled by the new, contrite Brandon Marshall.

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General manager Ozzie Newsome told the media on Wednesday that he’ll seek wide receiver help this offseason for the Ravens, although he obviously didn’t divulge any details about how he’ll acquire said help.

Will Newsome make a run at Anquan Boldin or Brandon Marshall? It’s a strong possibility, as is the idea of the Ravens signing/acquiring either Julius Peppers or Elvis Dumervil to help boost their pass rush. At this point, nothing should be ruled out.

If the Ravens do decide to trade for a receiver this offseason, the general consensus might be that they’ll go after Boldin because he comes with less baggage. But don’t forget that Newsome had a deal in place with the 49ers back in 2004 for Terrell Owens before an arbiter squashed that deal from happening. Marshall is younger than Boldin and can likely be had for a reasonable price because everyone knows that he’s on the outs in Denver. So if Newsome feels that Marshall is worth the risk, then it might only take a second or third rounder to acquire him.

Newsome knows that the Ravens have a solid young core on offense and the defense is still good enough to make a Super Bowl run. If he can acquire a receiver of Marshall or Boldin’s talent, then he’ll be taking another step in getting Baltimore to the next level.

Update: Beat writer Mike Preston disagrees with the sentiment that Baltimore will be a landing spot for Marshall, even going as far as to say that he would be surprised if the Ravens pursued him this offseason.

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ESPN.com breaks down several possible destinations for receiver Brandon Marshall if/when the Broncos decide to deal him this offseason.

· The first speculation was that Marshall would be headed to the Seahawks or the Redskins, via two of our NFL Nation bloggers.

· Cincinnati has the need for a second WR to go along with Chad Ochocinco, but we’re not sure the Bengals would want another head case.

· The Cowboys need a legitimate No. 1 WR and Jerry Jones would have no problem forking out cash for a new deal to Marshall.

· What about the Pats? Randy Moss isn’t getting any younger, and Wes Welker might be a shell of his former self after shredding his knee.

· Dave Krieger of the Denver Post speculated on some new spots: the Ravens, Dolphins and Cardinals.

Mike Klis of the Denver Post also throws out a Marshall-for-Brady Quinn scenario, but he’s just speculating – he has nothing to back that rumor up.

The problem the Broncos have is that Marshall’s trade value has never been lower. Teams know that he and head coach Josh McDaniels are at odds and that Denver wants to rid itself of him. The Broncos will be lucky to land a third round pick for him, which would be quite a steal for the team that acquires him.

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The Denver Post reports that the Broncos are expected to trade receiver Brandon Marshall soon after the NFL free agency period opens on March 5.

During the AFC Pro Bowl team’s first practice Wednesday at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, Marshall ran a few patterns at top speed, cut sharply on the artificial surface and showed no ill effects from the bum hamstring that brought on a controversial and premature end to his 2009 season.

After the practice, Marshall was pleasant and conversational, until it was time to speak on the record.
“I’m not talking,” he said. “I’ve had enough publicity.”

Marshall was benched by Broncos coach Josh McDaniels the Friday before Denver’s final game of the season, essentially for punitive, not injury-related, reasons.

The roller coaster that is Brandon Marshall’s NFL life continues. The Broncos may have a tough time getting fair compensation for Marshall in a trade after he and head coach Josh McDaniels got into it during the final week of the season. Teams aren’t going to be willing to hand over draft picks knowing that the Broncos want to dump the troubled receiver. And let’s not forget Marshall’s, uh, character quirks.

It’s funny to think back at the start of the season when the Broncos were winning and Marshall went up to hug McDaniels during a post-game presser. Their relationship collapsed quicker than Denver’s season.

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