After months of speculation, rumor, and conjecture regarding the future of receiver Brandon Marshall in Denver, the answer finally has arrived.
He has none.
The Broncos have placed the first-round tender on the four-year veteran, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
As a result, Marshall can sign with any team. The Broncos have a right to match the offer, and if they don't they receive only a first-round pick as compensation.
The move likely will be interpreted as an indication that the Broncos are ready to move on. If they wanted to keep Marshall, they surely would have used the highest possible tender, which would have required both a first-round pick and a third-round pick as compensation, for a contract with a value only $600,000 greater than the $2.521 million payday that applies to the first-round tender.
The Broncos also could be willing to trade Marshall's rights for something less than a first-round pick.
Then again, some might think that the Broncos' goal is to get another team to sign Marshall to a long-term deal, and then match it. This raises the issue of the Steve Hutchinson/Nate Burleson poison pill, which no one has used since 2006 -- even though the device remains a viable tool for fostering player movement.
Our guess? Someone with a low first-round pick like the Ravens will sign him to an offer sheet. Whether the offer sheet contains a poison pill remains to be seen.
