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.