As the Broncos attempt to get deals done with bigger-name free agents like Malik Jackson and Brock Osweiler, the team is taking care of one if its restricted free agents. According to ESPN’s Trey Wingo (Twitter link), Denver is placing a second-round RFA tender on linebacker Brandon Marshall.
While he hasn’t made as many headlines as teammates Jackson, Von Miller, and Danny Trevathan this offseason, Marshall is a key cog in the Broncos’ defense, starting all 16 games and three postseason contests for the club this past season. Marshall totaled 101 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception.
By assigning him a second-round RFA tender worth $2.553MM, the Broncos will assure that if any team signs Marshall to an offer sheet that they choose not to match, they’ll receive a second-round pick as compensation.
Per Nicki Jhabvala of the Denver Post, the Dolphins and Seahawks are among the teams expected to have some interest in Marshall. However, I doubt that any club will be willing to part with a second-round pick to sign him, so the most likely scenario is that Marshall plays out the year on his tender before becoming eligible for unrestricted free agency next winter.
Here’s more on the Broncos:
- Peyton Manning is retiring, but it’s not clear yet whether the Broncos will place him on the reserve/retired list or simply release him. As Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk explains, it’s worth keeping an eye on, since Manning could come out of retirement down the road with no roadblocks if Denver cuts him.
- According to Peter King of TheMMQB.com, the Rams’ brain-trust had mild interest in Manning, but hadn’t yet had a serious internal discussion about him, and likely wouldn’t have guaranteed him a starting job. If the Rams were the only club with any level of interest in Manning, as King suggests, it likely made the quarterback’s retirement decision easier.
- For what it’s worth, Ed Werder of ESPN.com tweets that Manning and agent Tom Condon never attempted to determine other teams’ interest in the QB — their deliberations were simply about whether or not to retire.
- The Texans are expected to contact Jimmy Sexton, the agent for Brock Osweiler, when the legal tampering period begins today, according to Mike Klis of 9NEWS.