Denver Broncos’ wide receiver Brandon Marshall has requested a trade, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Marshall reportedly is upset with his current contract with the Broncos and says he lacks trust for the Broncos’ training staff after they apparently did not notice his hip injury as early as he would have liked.

Despite what many casual observers may think, this was brought on, completely and entirely, by the begrudged wide receiver Marshall, and not Broncos management.

Marshall has skipped every Broncos offseason activity, including the mandatory one this past weekend, and met with team owner Pat Bowlen on Saturday.

According to the Denver Post, Bowlen told Marshall to go home and think about his decision to request a trade, but early indications are that Marshall will be sticking to his “guns.”

This is arguably the dumbest move by a player I have ever seen in my life. Not only is Marshall injured, but he has yet to resolve all of his legal matters. He has not participated in one practice with the Broncos’ new system.

If Marshall wants to get paid, his best option is to report to training camp on July 30th. He is already going to be fined over $35,000 for missing the mandatory three day camp, and will be fined even more if he misses training camp.

Basically, Marshall has two options:

1. Skip Training Camp, hold out for 2009, lose over $2 million (not to mention free agent value).

2. Show up to training camp, post big numbers in 2009, earn a payday next offseason

Being traded is not an option for Marshall. 

Due to his off-field incidents, recent hip surgery, the fact that he led the NFL in dropped passes last year, and the fact that he only has one year left on his contract could diminish his trade value.

Marshall needs Denver, and quite frankly, Denver needs Marshall. He adds a whole other dimension to this team’s offense with his playmaking ability.

He has posted back-to-back 100-catch seasons, and last season made his first Pro Bowl.

Still, the thought of Marshall being traded is attractive to fans of other teams, so let’s speculate. Here are some possible landing spots for the receiver (in no particular order):

 

1. Minnesota Vikings

If the Vikings want Marshall bad enough, they could give the Broncos DT Kevin Williams for him straight up. The Vikings are in hot pursuit of QB Brett Favre, and if they could obtain Marshall, it would be all the more reason for Favre to join.

 

2. Chicago Bears

The Bears sold the farm for Jay Cutler, and they have some defensive players that could get the Broncos excited. Okay, they have one defensive player that could get the Broncos excited, and that is defensive tackle Tommie Harris.

 

3.  New York Giants

The Giants cut Plaxico Burress earlier this offseason, and although they devoted some of their draft to the WR position, Marshall could still entice them. They have a plethora of defensive linemen the Broncos would love to add.

 

4. Cleveland Browns

The Browns could send the Broncos any combination of Braylon Edwards or Shaun Rogers and some draft picks.

 

To be clear, I do not think in the very least that Marshall will be traded. He has no leverage, and if Josh McDaniels and company were to give in to Marshall, it would completely negate the statement and point they made by trading Jay Cutler earlier this offseason.

 

Another Brandon catches on

Coincidence or not, the Broncos signed wide receiver Brandon Lloyd, formerly of the Chicago Bears, to a free agent contract today.

Lloyd made some big plays for the Bears in 2008, catching 26 passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns.

 

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