According to Bob Glauber of Newsday, the Jets are seriously exploring the possibility of trading for disgruntled Broncos wideout Brandon Marshall.

Although coach Rex Ryan repeatedly has said he is satisfied with his receivers, the Jets have taken a look at acquiring an established receiver. Jerricho Cotchery is the Jets’ only proven veteran receiver.

It is believed the Broncos would want a first-round draft pick in any deal for Marshall, but it is unlikely the Jets would pay that high a price.

Actually, it’s been reported that the price is a first and a fourth round pick for Marshall. So if the Jets are unlikely willing to pay that price, it’s doubtful that they’ll peek the Broncos’ interest enough to engage in trade talks for Marshall.

That said, Denver has to be nearing the end of its rope. Josh McDaniels has already suspended Marshall for conduct detrimental to the team and at some point enough is enough. Maybe if the Jets offer a package of a second and a fourth round pick, the Broncos will bite. Maybe.

Chances are that the Broncos are going to at least see how Marshall reacts to his suspension and then decide what to do from there. His trade value is at an all-time low and considering he’s a Pro Bowler, they don’t want to get sucked in by a lowball offer. The Broncos could be hoping that he returns from his suspension with a new attitude and either they can hang onto him, or he’ll up his trade value and then they can get a first rounder in exchange for his services.

Update: ESPN News is reporting that the Broncos want LB David Harris in exchange for Marshall, although that hasn’t been confirmed yet.

After a tumultuous offseason in which he’s demanded a new contract or for the Broncos to trade him, receiver Brandon Marshall has seemingly reached his boiling point.

During a recent practice, Marshall exuded frustration by punting balls after catching them (instead of handing them to the ball boy) and swatting away a pass that was thrown to him. But he now admits that his actions were an “error in judgment” on his part.

From ESPN.com:

In the video aired by KMGH-TV from Wednesday’s portion of practice that was open to the media, Marshall was shown walking when the rest of the team was running during warmups, insolently punting the ball away instead of handing it to a ball boy and swatting away a pass that was thrown to him.

Marshall said some of the video, which included a shot of him sitting on his pads before practice, was taken out of context. But he acknowledged his frustration boiled over and that it was an error in judgment to act as he did, especially when he punted the ball.

“I think everybody knows there’s a lot of stuff built up there, and me handling it that way wasn’t good,” Marshall said during the ESPN phone interview. “I think if I could do it again I definitely wouldn’t punt the ball.”

Marshall said he wasn’t trying to force his way out of town — he asked for a trade this summer after the Broncos declined to rework a contract which will pay him $2.2 million this season.

“I’m not out there trying to be a distraction to the team,” Marshall said. “Unfortunately, yesterday I kind of let my frustration get the best of me.”

I went into more detail yesterday about Marshall’s situation in Denver, which you can read here. But the bottom line is that he needs to look up the word professionalism and then apply it to his career.

He’s not doing himself any favors by acting like a child while at practice. In fact, he’s only getting further and further away from what he truly wants (whether that’s a new contract, to be traded or both).

According to a report by the Denver Post, the Broncos are willing to listen to offers for receiver Brandon Marshall, as long as those offers include a first and a fourth round draft pick.

The Broncos would listen for trade offers for Marshall if they included first- and fourth-round draft picks. But the buzz among the league executives contacted this week was that they would want to see if Marshall is healthy after undergoing hip surgery in the offseason.

And a few of those personnel executives said they would have to explain to the team ownership that Marshall, despite his acquittal on misdemeanor battery charges in Atlanta earlier this month, is still considered one more brush with the law away from a substantial suspension by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

In other words, despite their battle of wills, McDaniels and Marshall may need each other, at least for the time being. McDaniels needs a playmaker, the executives said, and Marshall needs to show he is full speed and ready to be a productive player, to get his wish to be traded.

The article hits the nail on the head; Marshall needs to play ball (literally and figuratively) if he expects to get what he wants. He wants a new contract and/or to be traded, but he can’t have either of those things if he makes a stink in Denver, because the Broncos will be unwilling to give him more money and unable to deal him to another team.

Marshall’s best course of action would be to get healthy, suit up, shut up and play. That way he shows good faith to the Broncos and proves to other teams that he’s worth the risk. As of now, he hasn’t even taking the time to learn the Broncos’ playbook and continues to speak out about wanting a new contract. Those things aren’t helping him.

From a pure trade stand point, the compensation of a first and a fourth for a receiver of Marshall’s talent would be worth it for a team. But factor in his health and his off-field history, and the situation gets a lot more complicated.

This certainly bears watching, but I don’t think the Broncos are going to get a 1st and a 4th for Marshall, and given his overall attitude this summer, teams will only trade for him if they’re getting a good deal. He’s practicing now, which is a good sign, and that makes him an interesting pick in the 4th or 5th round of fantasy drafts. While all of this drama has been going on, Eddie Royal has been working his tail off, and he may end up as the team’s top receiver. This would make him a great deal in the 5th or 6th.

One would think that Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall would lay low for a while after being acquitted last week of a misdemeanor battery charge for supposedly beating his girlfriend. But apparently that’s just not how Brandon Marshall rolls.

According to a report by Yahoo! Sports, Marshall has reiterated to the Broncos that he either wants a new contract extension or be traded.

Marshall and his agent apparently got together with Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels yesterday to let him know that the wide receiver still wants a new contract extension or to be traded. The team reportedly has no plans to change his contract or trade him.

So Marshall didn’t practice yesterday and may just hold out till something better comes along. Of course, that means a daily $15,888 fine, which could eat into his $450,000 pretty quickly.

Marshall is reportedly looking for a deal in the neighborhood of what the Falcons gave Roddy White ($48 million over six years). Apparently NFL receivers just can’t be happy for each other without wanting what the other is making. (Don’t forget that White wanted what Greg Jennings got from the Packers earlier this offseason.)

Marshall doesn’t get it. The Broncos aren’t going to commit that kind of money to a guy who could easily wind up in court again by the end of the year, as opposed to helping them on the gridiron. His production on the field certainly warrants a new contract, but his immaturity off it will keep Denver from following through on an extension.

The Broncos aren’t going to trade him and if Marshall were smart, he would play out the remainder of his contract by being good both on and off the field. At the end of the year, the Broncos can decide whether or not he’s worth the investment by either offering him a new deal, franchising him so he doesn’t hit the open market, or flat out allowing him to walk via free agency.

The bottom line is that Denver wants the ball in its court and not allow Marshall (or his agent) to have control of the situation. If things get messy heading into the season, so be it, but the Broncos can’t allow another player to dictate his own situation like Jay Cutler was able to do before he was traded to Chicago.

If you thought Brandon Marshall would give up $14,000 a day just because he’s a little ticked off at the Broncos well then you, my friend, are sadly mistaken. The disgruntled receiver said that he would be in attendance when the Broncos open training camp on July 27.

“It’s $14,000 a day if I miss. So I will be there. I’m not stupid.”

The last line in his comment is up for debate seeing as how he’s been in no less than eight off field incidents involving authorities since 2004, including situations involving domestic violence, DUIs and misdemeanor battery charges. He might not be stupid, but he’s a long ways away from being intelligent.

That said, at least this ends the debate of whether or not Marshall will be in camp come the end of the month. While his reasons (money, money, money, money, money – MON-AY!) for being in camp are completely self-absorbed, so were his reasons for potentially holding out too. He’s upset that he’s still playing on his rookie contract and while he is underpaid given his production to this point in his career, who could blame Denver for not wanting to pony up for a guy who could wind up in jail at any given time during the day?

Chances are, Marshall is going to make things messy for the Broncos in camp. He’ll openly bitch about his contract and his desire to be traded, and then the front office will have to decide whether or not to keep the distraction around, or try and trade him for some decent compensation. Either way, just because Marshall is reporting to camp, doesn’t mean that this situation has been resolved.

During an arrest in October of 2007 for suspicion of DUI, Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall reportedly told police that he hated Denver and that he hoped that the team would trade him.

“I hate Denver. I hope I get traded. I hate this f******* city,” an officer wrote in the police report.

The report was only made public after CALL7 Investigators asked for it, after receiving a tip about the report’s content. Read full report — WARNING: Graphic Language
“What we know about Brandon Marshall is he is a supremely talented football player on the field with the habit of getting in trouble off the field,” said Adam Schefter, NFL correspondent for ESPN.

The information is particularly relevant because Marshall has recently asked for a trade.

“I think that we’ve known Brandon Marshall is interested in a change of scenery, and I think these comments show that that change of scenery is probably not very new in his thinking its something that dates back to his arrest,” Schefter said. “These are some deep-seated feelings that came out during this incident and now they have come to light.”
Marshall also berated police for stopping him and not finding the killer of fellow Bronco Darrent Williams.

“Why aren’t you guys out looking for Williams’ killer?” the report says.

Marshall’s situation in Denver just went from a player who is frustrated over his contract, to a player that has wanted out for some time and will stop at nothing to do so. He may be upset about the fact that his entering the final year of his rookie contract and the way the team’s doctors handled his hip injury, but the real crux of the issue is that he just wants out.

Yesterday, ESPN.com reported that the Broncos were going to stand firm and not trade Marshall. They don’t want to set a precedent where whenever a player demands a trade, they give in a la Jay Culter. But they’re dealing with an extremely disgruntled receiver right now and chances are that if he wants out, he’s going to be willing to sit out training camp and push Denver into a tight corner.

Roughly two weeks ago, wide receiver Brandon Marshall asked Broncos’ owner Pat Bowlen in a private meeting to be traded. A few days later, Marshall’s agent said that Denver would abide by the receiver’s wishes and do everything they could to deal him.

Turns out the agent was wrong.

According to a report by ESPN.com, the Broncos are standing firm on not trading the disgruntled Marshall, even though that might mean him skipping training camp next month and sitting out the first month or so of the regular season.

After the Jay Cutler fiasco, the Broncos don’t want to set a precedent for allowing players to bolt just because they don’t like their contract, their role with the team, or the stadium’s hot dogs. They learned their lesson with Cutler and aren’t about to allow Marshall to throw a temper tantrum and get away with it.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that Denver’s stance won’t backfire. Marshall is extremely upset with the way the team’s doctors treated his hip injury and doesn’t want them handling his rehab. He’s also furious about his contract situation, as he’s in the final year of his rookie deal that’s paying him roughly minimum wage in terms of NFL money.

Somebody will have to cave for this situation to get resolved. If Marshall loves football and doesn’t want to miss any games, then he’ll show up at some point this summer. But if he cares more about the money, then he might force the Broncos into making a decision about whether or not to trade him so they could get compensation for when he bolts at the end of the year via free agency.

- DEADSPIN has video of a very bitter Artie Lange crapping all over Joe Buck on the debut of his new show on HBO. (Side note: I love Paul Rudd.) (Side note #2: Talk show hosts are supposed to be self-deprecating and/or funny. Joe Buck is neither.) AWFUL ANNOUNCING has some follow up on the exchange, while THE BIG LEAD wonders if Lange hadn’t appeared on the show, would there be any buzz?

- BRANDON MARSHALL clears the air on his blog. He’s leaving Denver.

- YARDBARKER notes that it wasn’t the T-Wolves that broke the news about Kevin McHale’s departure. It was Kevin Love, via Twitter.

- Click over to SPORTSbyBROOKS for the most misleading post headline I’ve ever seen. Read the post and then try to remember what it was supposed to be about. Those who make it to the end will be treated to a shot of Pam Oliver’s badonkadonk.

Peter King of SI.com writes that the Brandon Marshall situation in Denver is starting to resemble what happened with Jay Cutler a couple months back.

The Brandon Marshall story is starting to smell like the Jay Cutler fiasco, with one exception: The Broncos are clamming up. During the Cutler thing, Josh McDaniels was an open book, talking to me four or five times at length about everything — how he had nothing against Cutler, how he didn’t offend him (in his view), about how he wanted Cutler to be his quarterback. But Monday night, I texted McDaniels, who is a big texter. Nothing. Texted his assistant and got back that the coach is laying low and had nothing to say for now. Texted Marshall, who’s also a texter. Nothing. So this one’s going to be contested below ground, it appears.

My feeling is the Broncos will play a harder brand of hardball with Marshall, in part because he’s the second star trying to shoot his way out of town in four months. Owner Pat Bowlen might regret how precipitously the organization acted in rushing a franchise quarterback out of town if this stalemate with Marshall lasts into training camp.

Yes, Marshall wants to be traded. Now the interesting story is whether Denver will acquiesce and, if so, what sort of precedent that will set. Cutler seemed to write a how-to book on The Right Way To Force a Trade. If the Broncos deal Marshall, the next time a star feeling underpaid (Ryan Clady, Ryan Harris, Eddie Royal, i.e.) wants out, the Broncos will have shown they’re weak and ineffective with unhappy players. That’s why I feel strongly they won’t let Marshall out, and they’ll let him sit as long as he wants, even if that means he won’t be in camp by September.

The Broncos are an absolute mess right now. They fire Mike Shanahan and replace him with McDaniels and in the ensuing months, they’re essentially forced to trade their starting quarterback and might have to do the same with their most potent offensive weapon. Granted, this isn’t all McDaniels’ fault, but clearly players are taking issue with the way the team is being run right now.

And King’s right – the team might be setting themselves up for future problems down the road.

Brandon Marshall’s agent has confirmed that his client requested a trade from the Broncos and has said that the team will do everything in its power to accommodate the receiver’s wishes.

This news doesn’t mean that the Broncos will go through with a trade, of course, but it might offer a glimpse into their thought process regarding this potentially ugly situation with Marshall.

Denver certainly doesn’t want to lose another key piece to its offense after trading quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago a couple of months ago, but it might have little choice. Marshall has a history of off-field incidents and if the team doesn’t want to risk paying him what he wants, a trade might be in everyone’s best interest.

The problem is getting max value for Marshall, who certainly is productive on the field but as previously noted, is a major liability off it. He’s a Pro Bowl caliber player but the Broncos might not get Pro Bowl caliber compensation for him when they pick up the phone and see who’s interested.

Speaking of which, Rotoworld speculates that the Ravens could be interested if the Broncos eventually do trade Marshall. Baltimore did nothing to upgrade its receiver corps this offseason and if they’re willing to pay, Marshall could be a nice addition. Don’t forget that the Ravens were the team that traded for Terrell Owens a couple years ago before he made a stink and eventually wound up in Philadelphia, so clearly GM Ozzie Newsome isn’t afraid to take a risk.