Brandon Marshall: Not quite out of the woods
When news broke yesterday that Brandon Marshall would not be suspended for his most recent arrest, it was cause for celebration for Marshall's keeper league owners like Fantasy Fix star intern Brett Bandermark. The Associated Press and Denver Post thought Marshall was clear to play 16 games this year. Then confusion settled in because Marshall still has an upcoming court case. Let's answer any remaining questions.
1. Is Marshall out of the woods yet?
No. The NFL confirmed they will review Marshall's upcoming case "when appropriate." Basically, that would only be if he's convicted or pleads no contest in his upcoming trial. A suspension still appears possible.
2. Why did the Post and AP get Marshall's status wrong?
Marshall has already been punished for his 2008 arrest which is awaiting trial. That was his suspension from last year. But Mike Florio thinks that Marshall's suspension from last season may have been reduced, "with the understanding that any eventual conviction arising from pending domestic abuse charges would trigger further action."
3. When will Marshall go on trial?
The Denver Post reports that a continuance of the case is likely, possibly for months. It's quite possible the process will not be over before the season.
4. Gut feeling, when is Marshall back on the field?
The Denver Post sure seems to think Marshall will not get suspended by the league again. He certainly won't unless he's convicted in this upcoming case. If he was suspended again, it would probably be a short one.
While we don't know for sure yet, the most likely outcome is that Marshall is cleared to play for Week 1. As long as his hip is willing.
We would rank him in the top-15 wideouts if he's ready to go by the opener, about six spots higher than he was in our first magazine.
Comments
This is great news for dynasty owners like myself but what about the soon to be trade demands after the Broncos said they won't give him a new contract?
Posted by: Steve C | June 3, 2009 12:47 PM
Would love to hear Evan and Scott C's comments on this as they were throwing out ideas that he may go undrafted after speculating on an 8 game suspension.
Is it possible to go back to Marshall thread from 2 months ago??
Posted by: TC | June 3, 2009 01:12 PM
As an dynasty owner of Marshall, I find myself asking this question...
Does talent and potential outweight availability? In other words, is it worth it to have a great player on your roster if you continually have to face the possiblity of not being able to have them in your starting lineup?
This applies to injury-prone players as well as those with off-the-field issues. Is the 20+ pts. a week that you get from them worth it if you only have them for half a season?
Like I said, I have Marshall on my dynasty team. I also have Marshawn Lynch. I've considered trying to move either one or even both of them even though they are two of my better players just because it seems like the problems they are having aren't going to go away.
Posted by: Reaper | June 3, 2009 01:31 PM
reaper -- as always, it depends on value, what your other options are, etc. if you can trade marshall for strong value to some guy who still thinks he's going to catch 100 balls a year despite losing cutler, do it. ask the ricky williams owners who loved ricky's "talent and potential" if they regretted having him when he just bailed out of the blue. ask pacman jones how his talent and potential are doing. ask plex owners how they feel about his talent. especially in the goodell era, i'm not sure the knuckleheads are worth it. i'll bet you can trade marshall and marshawn to guys who love them, get equivalent value, and free yourself from their off-field risk with no loss of on-field fantasy points.
Posted by: veggieb | June 3, 2009 01:52 PM
This actually isn't that great of news, as the Den Post and AP tried to make it out to be. He has a misdemeanor battery case pending.
here you go TC:
http://blogs.rotoworld.com/Fantasy_Football/2009/04/marshalls_surgery_bodes_poorly.php
The speculation of an eight-game suspension arose when it was suggested by the Den Post (which we can probably all agree now -- but maybe didn't know then -- isn't very reliable), Profootballtalk.com (which is reliable), and hinted at by Adam Schefter (who definitely was reliable).
The question posed in the blog was, assuming an eight-game ban, would you take marshall in your re-draft league? It certainly was a valid question at the time, and may become valid again if Marshall is convicted of misdemeanor battery of a woman later this month.
Posted by: evan | June 3, 2009 02:18 PM
You can't trade Marshall and get fair value for him with a cloud over his head (unless you get an owner that is clueless).
When you draft guys, you have to keep their history of off-filed antics in the back of your head.
Either way, Marshall has great talent but with Orton instead of Cutler, his value has decreased regardless of his off field issues.
If you have him signed for next yr (at a reasonable price), you gotta keep him.
Posted by: Joe Fanter | June 3, 2009 05:05 PM
Redraft league - you are better off drafting a guy like Steve Smith, Roddy White or Greg Jennings, rather than taking the risk on Marshall.
Posted by: Joe Fanter | June 3, 2009 05:09 PM