Brandon Marshall


Brandon Tyrone Marshall is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons in the National Football League. He played college football for the UCF Knights, and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL draft. Marshall has also played for the Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears, New York Jets, New York Giants, and the Seattle Seahawks. After his retirement from the NFL, Marshall became a TV personality, and is a former co-host on FS1's morning show First Things First. Marshall currently cohosts Showtime's Inside the NFL and has been on the show for seven seasons.
During his playing career, Marshall was known for his ability to break and dodge tackles. He led all NFL wide receivers in yards after first contact for the 2007 NFL season. Regarding Marshall's breakaway ability, cornerback Brandon Flowers said, "Brandon Marshall is a defensive lineman playing wide receiver. He wants to inflict punishment on you. He wants you to try to tackle him so he can shove you off of him and get more yards." Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha said Marshall is "the toughest guy to bring down, one-on-one." Despite Marshall's long productive career, he never played in a playoff game. His 12,351 career receiving yards are the most ever by a receiver who has never played in the postseason.
On December 13, 2009, against the Indianapolis Colts, Marshall set an NFL record for receptions in a game with 21. From 2007 to 2009, he accomplished the rare feat of catching at least 100 passes in three consecutive seasons.

Early life

Marshall was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later lived in Georgia and Florida where he played high school football at Lake Howell High School.
Marshall was a letterman in basketball and track three times at Lake Howell. He played both offense and defense, as he earned All-State honors and was named Seminole County Utility Player of the Year. In track Marshall competed as a jumper. As a senior, he won the Class 3A state triple jump championship, landing a personal-best jump of 14.81 meters, and also placed ninth in long jump, recording a jump of 6.88 meters. As a top competitor in high jump, he cleared 1.98 meters at the 2002 FHSAA 3A District 7 Meet, placing second. Marshall was a scholar athlete at the University of Central Florida, and was selected to the All-C-USA Team.

College career

Marshall attended the University of Central Florida, where he played a total of 44 games at wide receiver for the UCF Knights football team. He collected 112 receptions, 1,674 receiving yards, and 13 touchdowns in his collegiate career. As a freshman, he had a limited role and had two receptions for 18 yards and a touchdown. As a sophomore, he had 27 receptions for 363 yards and two touchdowns. As a junior, he had eight receptions for 84 yards and had an interception on defense. His best season came in 2005 as a senior. He played in 13 games and had career highs in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. Marshall's best career game came in the 2005 Hawaii Bowl, where he had 11 catches for 210 yards and three touchdowns. He was named MVP of the game. For his efforts during the 2005 season, Marshall was selected to the All-C-USA second-team.
Marshall also started at safety for seven games during the 2004 season due to injuries in UCF's secondary. He made his first collegiate start at safety on October 4, 2004, against Buffalo. He recorded four tackles, including half a sack. Marshall led his entire team in tackles during the 2004 season.

College statistics

Professional career

Denver Broncos

2006 season

The Denver Broncos selected Marshall with the 119th overall selection in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL draft.
Before the regular season began, Marshall suffered a slight tear to his posterior cruciate ligament in the preseason game against the Detroit Lions. Although the injury sidelined him for a couple weeks, he was able to return and play in 15 games during the regular season. Marshall had a total of 20 catches, 309 receiving yards, and 2 touchdowns for his rookie year. On October 22, against the Cleveland Browns, he had his first professional receiving touchdown. He caught a pass in each of the Broncos' final seven games of the season, totaling 18 receptions, 287 receiving yards, and 1 touchdown over that stretch. The lone touchdown came during an NBC Sunday Night Football home game against the Seattle Seahawks on December 3, 2006. In that game, Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler threw a pass to Marshall on the right side of the field. Marshall broke and spun away from three tackles on his way to a career-long 71-yard touchdown. It was the second longest rookie-to-rookie pass play in Broncos history.

2007 season

Marshall sustained injuries before the start of the 2007 season. He suffered a groin strain that kept him out of Broncos quarterback camp and team camp during May and June. He also pulled a quadriceps femoris muscle on July 10, 2007, during Broncos mini-camp. The injury left him out for nearly all of training camp until Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan ordered him to participate for the last couple of days.
On December 13, 2007, in a Thursday night road loss against the Houston Texans, Marshall caught 11 passes for 107 yards. Nine of those receptions occurred in the first half. Marshall became the only wide receiver in Broncos history to have at least 10 receptions in two consecutive games. On Christmas Eve, 2007, in a Monday night road loss to the San Diego Chargers, Marshall caught six passes for 75 yards. On December 30, 2007, in a home win against the Minnesota Vikings, Marshall caught 10 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. The 10 catches gave Marshall 102 total receptions for the year – his first career 100-catch season. He became only the third second-year player in NFL history to have at least 100 receptions in a season, joining Isaac Bruce and Larry Fitzgerald.
During the 2007 season, Marshall posted team-highs and career-highs in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Marshall reached the 1,000-yard milestone during the 13th game of the season, which was a 41–7 home win over the Kansas City Chiefs. In the game, Marshall had 10 catches for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Among all of the wide receivers in the NFL during the season, Marshall placed fifth in receptions, sixth in receiving yards, second in yards after the catch, first in yards after first contact, first in number of times targeted and tied for fourth in catches that led to first downs.
Following the 2007 season, Marshall, Cutler, and Tony Scheffler went to Atlanta, Georgia together to train and work on timing for the 2008 season.

2008 season

On March 22, 2008, Marshall slipped on an empty McDonald's bag while wrestling with family members, and subsequently, fell through a television set at his home in Orlando, Florida – cutting his right forearm. According to Broncos head athletic trainer Steve Antonopulos, Marshall "sustained right forearm lacerations to one artery, one vein, one nerve, two tendons and three muscles." He was treated at a local hospital and later released after needing a cast and several stitches. In early April, Marshall had the cast removed from his surgically repaired right forearm and was in a sling until May. He was cleared in late-June to practice with the Broncos. He later revealed that his right hand was numb during the entire 2008 season.
Suspension
Marshall officially received a three-game suspension from the NFL on August 5, 2008, due to off-the-field legal troubles including a drunk driving charge and domestic violence arrest. He appealed the decision and won the appeal, reducing the punishment to a one-game suspension and a fine of two combined game checks, which totaled $52,353.
Bronco and NFL records
In Marshall's first game back from suspension, he caught 18 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown, in a 39–38 home victory over the San Diego Chargers. The 18 receptions were a Broncos single-game record, and tied for the second most in NFL history, trailing only Terrell Owens, who caught 20 passes for the San Francisco 49ers in a game during the 2000 NFL season. Marshall's 18 receptions gave him 55 total receptions over five games, which is an NFL record. He is the first receiver in NFL history to register at least 10 receptions in four out of five games. His performance against the Chargers also earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career.
Attempted celebration
Marshall received attention for an attempted touchdown celebration during the Broncos' 34–30 comeback road victory over the Cleveland Browns in a Thursday Night Football matchup on November 6, 2008. With over a minute left in the game, Marshall caught the go-ahead touchdown pass and then began to pull a glove from his pants. Denver wide receiver Brandon Stokley rushed over to Marshall to urge him to put the glove away, as it could be considered a touchdown celebration prop, which is against NFL rules. Marshall later explained that he was intending to put on the glove as a means to honor racial progress and unity in the United States, following the country electing Barack Obama as President two days earlier. Regarding the attempted touchdown celebration, Marshall said, "I know at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised that black glove and that fist as a silent gesture of black power and liberation. Forty years later, I wanted to make my own statement. I wanted to make my own statement and gesture to represent the progress we made." Smith and Carlos didn't initially see Marshall's attempted gesture when it happened live, but both said they appreciated and understood Marshall's intent. "He wanted to make a mark in history and feel that he was a part of the change for the better," Smith said. "He had the right idea in terms of what he was attempting to do," Carlos said.