Posted by Tristan H. Cockcroft
The winds of change, apparently, continue to blow in Denver.
Only two and a half months after the Broncos traded Jay Cutler to the Bears, they might be about to lose another star player, this time No. 1 receiver Brandon Marshall, who posted on his official Web site on Tuesday an effective "good-bye and thank you" to his fans in Denver. Marshall's agent, Kennard McGuire, confirmed to ESPN's Michael Smith that day that the receiver has requested a trade and that "he was told by ownership that the team would do everything in its power to accommodate those wishes."
"Life is filled with change, and where I am in my life now change is probably best," wrote Marshall on his blog. "It's hard leaving an organization ran by one of the best owners in all of sports, and someone who's been there for me through my ups and downs. The hardest thing was hearing Mr. B [Broncos owner Pat Bowlen] wish me luck in the future, but we both came to the conclusion that this is probably the best thing for me to grow on and off the field."
Marshall skipped the team's mandatory minicamp this past weekend, with reports indicating he wants a pay raise and has medical trust issues with the team. The Broncos have made no public statement that they intend to meet his request, but expect them to make every effort, especially in light of how the Cutler situation resolved itself.
But even if a Marshall trade does come to fruition, which team might bite? Apparently it won't be Cutler's new team, the Bears. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Cutler expressed his approval of the team's current receiving corps upon the conclusion of their offseason program Wednesday, telling the newspaper, "I'm 100 percent comfortable [with the wide receivers] … I think we added some depth with some younger guys, and then some of the older veterans are stepping up and playing well. So I think we've got more than enough to compete."
That's an interesting take by Cutler, considering the four wide receivers he mentioned -- Earl Bennett, Rashied Davis, Devin Hester and Brandon Rideau, in alphabetical order -- caught a combined 86 passes in 2008. Cutler nominated Hester as a bona fide No. 1 option, and reports on his chemistry with tight end Greg Olsen have been favorable during the offseason. Hester and Bennett probably stack up as the No. 1 and 2 receivers as things stand today, and their sleeper potential benefits from the addition of Cutler, but it's hard to see this team rolling out solely the talent it currently possesses on the roster.
One player the Sun-Times speculates could be pursued: Plaxico Burress, discussed Monday in Eric Karabell's blog. With the Broncos already possessing the Bears' No. 1 draft pick in 2010, Chicago probably lacks the pieces to attract Denver in a Marshall deal. But Burress, by comparison, could easily be scooped off the free-agent wire, and sure enough, the paper points out that the team has touched base with the troubled receiver's agent, Drew Rosenhaus. Might that be a good match?
Even if neither the Marshall nor Burress situations pans out with Chicago the victor, the reports are promising signs for both Cutler and Burress. That the Bears are mindful of providing Cutler the weapons he'll need to succeed makes him a potential draft-day bargain, since most currently see him as a skilled passer with a weak set of receivers, potentially pushing him out of the top 10 in fantasy at the position. Don't be so hasty. And don't be so hasty to discard Burress; the rumors surrounding his potential return, and his raw talent besides, make him someone to track in the late rounds.
One guy whose value might significantly suffer as a result of the news: Kyle Orton, recently declared Denver's starting quarterback. Losing Marshall would mean a hit to his receiving corps, though Eddie Royal's stock would seemingly soar. One of the primary reasons Orton has been building an offseason buzz in fantasy is the weapons at his disposal; a hit to that part of the roster would mean a certain hit to his value.
• While the Bears haven't ruled out a Burress or Marshall addition, it seems that the Vikings have, reports NFL.com. There's a good reason for that: They're apparently high on rookie Percy Harvin, whose talent drew praise from coach Brad Childress on Wednesday. "I think the first thing I thought about was really the same feelings the first time we handed Adrian Peterson the ball," Childress told the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune. 'It was with 50 rookies that we bring in right after the draft. When you see it with your own eyes … the thing that came to mind right away was 'Wow.'" Harvin has been used in multiple facets of the offense thus far, and all indications are that he'll give Sidney Rice a run for his money at flanker in the preseason. With the Vikings raving about the rookie in the early going, Harvin's stock might soon be on the rise.
• Harvin might not be the only rookie to crack his team's Week 1 lineup; the Buccaneers are offering obvious hints that Josh Freeman might be their starting quarterback from the onset of the season. "We discussed the Freeman plan last week and decided we'll probably go a week into training camp and revisit it and maybe expedite what he's doing," quarterbacks coach Greg Olson told The Tampa Tribune. "We may get him involved earlier than we thought." To this point, Freeman has seen little time with the first- and second-team offenses, though the Bucs should change that as training camps approach, especially as reports on contender Byron Leftwich have been poor recently. Luke McCown is also in the mix, but with Freeman presumably this team's future, he might get every bit as good a chance to win the job in August. A problem for fantasy: None of the three seems likely to make a significant impact.
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