The Denver Broncos have had some difficult contract decisions to make since winning Super Bowl 50 in February. Some players have been rewarded handsomely (see, C.J. Anderson). Some players have been to rich for Denver’s blood (see, Brock Osweiler and Malik Jackson).
Along with trying to get a long-term deal with Super Bowl MVP Von Miller hammered out, there are two other key players that are also seeking better deals for themselves, wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders and linebacker Brandon Marshall.
Sanders is in the final (and most lucrative) year of a three-year contract. He said earlier this year that he wants to “retire a Bronco,” but that’s likely going to mean getting a long-term deal done before the start of this season.
Marshall, meanwhile, is sitting on a restricted free agent second-round tender worth $2.553 million. He’s currently in talks with the Broncos about a long-term deal, and is participating in OTAs despite not having a deal signed.
Broncos general manager and executive vice president of football operations John Elway recently said that he is anticipating having both Sanders and Marshall signed to long-term deals by July, but who is the higher priority?
Benny Bash, Kent Erickson and Benjamin Allbright tackled the topic on Thursday’s episode of The Big Show on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7.
“Brandon Marshall to me is the right answer to this,” Bash said. “I think he fits great in this system.”
Bash isn’t wrong. Marshall has emerged as one of the best linebackers in the NFL and he has the numbers to prove it. He has ranked first and second for the Broncos in tackles in each of the last two seasons.
Marshall is more than just a tackling machine, he has the ability to drop back in coverage as well.
“Name me a better coverage linebacker in the NFL besides Luke Kuechly,” Allbright said. “You’re not gonna find a guy that’s better than Marshall outside of Luke Kuechly.”
So what’s Sander’s case?
“I think he’s a top-10 receiver in the league,” Allbright said.
According to Pro Football Reference, Sanders has caught more passes, racked up more yards and scored more touchdowns in two years with Denver than he did during his four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Inconsistency at the quarterback position lead to somewhat of a down year, if you could call it that, for Sanders in 2015 after he ranked fifth in both yards and receptions in 2014.
“It’s pretty hard to replace a top-10 player at a position,” Erickson said.
If faced with the dilemma, it will be very difficult for the Broncos to let either one of these players go. It helps that both Marshall and Sanders have made it clear that they want to be Denver Broncos.
As far as problems go in the NFL, this is a good one to have.
To hear the full conversation, click on the podcast below…
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