Anquan Boldin, Brandon Marshall on the Move? Three-Team Deal May Be in the Works

Do not get offended, Brandon Marshall.

Rumor has it via Scout.com’s Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals affiliates that star wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Brandon Marshall could be on the move via a three-way trade between the Chiefs, Cardinals, and Broncos.

I was notified by fellow Broncos writer Randy Garcia that the proposed trade would be roughly as follows:

Cardinals Get

WR Brandon Marshall

Chiefs Get

WR Anquan Boldin

Broncos Get

QB Matt Leinart

Okay, so this proposed deal does not make very much sense up front. It seems as though the Broncos are getting a pretty raw deal considering they have been rumored to be holding out for first and fourth round picks in exchange for Marshall. Not to mention this deal has the Chiefs giving up absolutely nothing.

A more fair deal would look as such:

Cardinals Get

WR Brandon Marshall

QB Tyler Thigpen

Chiefs’ fifth round pick

Chiefs Get

WR Anquan Boldin

Broncos Get

QB Matt Leinart

Chiefs’ first round pick

This seems like a pretty balanced return for all parties involved. The Cardinals get Boldin off their hands, and Brandon Marshall gets a fresh start. Arizona would also maintain the top WR duo in the NFL this way.

The Chiefs and head coach Todd Haley could put together a stellar wide receiver duo with Boldin and Dwayne Bowe and get rid of Thigpen, a guy who has been on the market for a while.

The Broncos get rid of Marshall and his antics while getting a quarterback of the future and a likely early to mid-first round pick. 

The only thing holding this type of trade back is Marshall. The Cardinals have to be willing not only to deal Boldin, but also to be ready to give Marshall a long-term contract at the end of this season, which is why I view this deal as somewhat unlikely.

Only time will tell, but a deal will need to be done soon, if at all.

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Speculation On Orton Injury: It Appears to Be A Serious Setback

There have been some unsubstantiated reports coming out of Denver that Kyle Orton may have a more serious injury on his throwing hand than previously thought.

Orton received a serious gash on his right index finger in the second quarter of the nationally televised pre-season game against Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears.  

The injury occurred on a third and two incomplete pass to Correll Buckhalter.  Orton was in his throwing motion as his hand appeared to have hit Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye on his gloved right hand.  Orton immediately winced and shook his hand in pain while disgusted as he came off the field.  

The gash was bleeding and appeared to be about an eighth of an inch wide.

The replay showed that Orton’s right hand did not touch a helmet which commonly leads to these types of injury’s to quarterbacks.  

The replay confirmed that the hand hit the gloved hand of Ogunleye.  

The Broncos immediately denied that the finger was broken, which eventually led to today’s speculation.

It appears that Kyle Orton did dislocate one or more of the knuckles on his right index finger.  This could mean that he has ligament strains or damage as well.  Moreover, when knuckles in particular are dislocated, the force can also cause the natural sacks of fluid beneath the knuckle to rupture out of position permanently and possibly burst.  This can lead to arthritic conditions later in life.

 If any or all of this is true it could take two to eight weeks before he is able to throw a ball without pain.  If the ligaments are strained, stretched, or torn that will have the most significant impact on Orton’s prognosis for returning sooner than later.

So where this leaves the Broncos is with two serious injuries to their top two quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Chris Simms, with only their rookie third string quarterback Tom Brandstater to shoulder the load. 

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Tom Brandstater To Be Thrown to the Wolves?

Tom Brandstater (Brand-stay-ter).

Learn the name, Bronco fans, because the rookie sixth-round pick out of Fresno State will be your opening day starting quarterback pending a roster move by the team.

Although the team has not issued a formal statement as to the duration starting quarterback Kyle Orton will spend healing a dislocated index knuckle, the Denver Post did report that Orton’s injury will require extensive stitching as the bone that was dislocated cut his skin all the way down to the bone on his throwing index finger.

Not so great.

To top it off with a cherry, the second highest paid backup quarterback in the NFL, Chris Simms, will be out indefinitely with a high ankle sprain to start the season.

That leaves Brandstater and recently signed quarterback Ingle Martin, who is probably the worst player on Madden 10 with a game rating of 35.

Brandstater is leaps and bounds ahead of Martin in terms of learning the offense, so he figures to get the opening day start unless the Broncos bring in someone else who is ready to play against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Normally, starters do not participate in the fourth preseason game, but that will not likely be the case with Brandstater who needs a little more time getting comfortable with the offense.

At least if Brandstater takes the field against the Bengals, he has a solid vote of confidence from his head coach, Josh McDaniels.

“Tom Brandstater has done a nice job of learning our offense,” McDaniels said after the team’s 27-17 loss to Chicago. “He knows what to do.  If needed he will go in there and play.”

If only he knew.

This will not be the first time a sixth-round pick named Tom took over for a team struggling with health issues at the quarterback position, and we all know how that turned out.

While Broncos fans will certainly not be at ease with Brandstater under center for the entire regular season, he is perfectly capable of doing what it seems as though every quarterback on the Broncos’ roster has been doing all preseason long, and that is throwing a lot of short passes, screen passes, and handing the ball off to the running back.

Brandstater at a Glance (Statistics Courtesy of the Denver Broncos’ Official Web Site)

• a quarterback who started for three seasons at Fresno State University, finishing his career ranked fifth in school history in completions (584), sixth in passing yards (6,857), and seventh in touchdown passes (47)
• accounted for 55 total touchdowns (47 passing, eight rushing) at Fresno State and was a first-team Academic All-Western Athletic Conference pick during each of his final three collegiate seasons
• totaled the fourth-most passing yards in the WAC with a career-high 2,664 yards along with a personal-best 18 touchdown passes as a senior for Fresno State in 2008
• ranked 23rd in the nation and fourth in the WAC in passer rating (140.5) as a junior in 2007, completing a personal-best 62.6 percent of his passes for 2,654 yards with 15 touchdowns and five interceptions

Obviously, we’re not in Fresno anymore, but at 6’5″, 223 pounds and with the pedigree that Brandstater brings with him, if he knows the offense like head coach Josh McDaniels claims he does, the Broncos and their fans can definitely make do in their season opener against the Bengals.

If fellow rookie and running back Knowshon Moreno can get back on the field in time for the opener, and wide receiver Brandon Marshall learns the offense, Brandstater will not have to be any kind of hero.

What a better dream for a rookie quarterback than:

1. an offensive line that only allowed 11.5 sacks in 2008
2. the top running back in the draft in Moreno and a great dual threat in free agent acquisition Correll Buckhalter
3. an emerging star and quadruple threat in fullback/tight end/running back/kick returner Peyton Hillis
4. a receiving core of Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, Chad Jackson, Brandon Lloyd, and Kenny McKinley
5. safety valves at tight end in Tony Scheffler, Daniel Graham, and Richard Quinn
6. a defense that appears to be playing some inspired football, to say the least
7. a head coach that has confidence in you
8. your first game is against the Bengals

Now, I am not going to come out and say that Brandstater is going to lead Denver to the Super Bowl. But I will say that having as many weapons and options as Brandstater has, it will be hard for him to mess this up unless he is absolutely so inaccurate that the receivers and running backs are simply unable to field any of his passes.

Broncos fans figured Brandstater could be their own version of Tom Brady maybe somewhere three years or so down the road, and they may get a glimpse into the future when the Broncos open their season on the road in Cincinnati.

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If Deion Branch Gets Cut, Reunion With McDaniels in Denver Possible

Reports from the Tacoma News Tribune indicate that wide receiver Deion Branch, a big trade acquisition of the Seattle Seahawks a couple of years ago, could be “on the bubble.”

The Seahawks’ starting wide receivers would be Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh if the season started today, with Branch lining up as the third receiver.

Here is the official report:

“So far, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson, Deion Branch and Deon Butler are likely in, with Courtney Taylor, Ben Obomanu and Jordan Kent fighting for the last couple of spots.

Or perhaps Branch could be on his way out.

The veteran will make $5 million this season to be Seattle’s third receiver and the Seahawks have a lot of depth at the position. So they may live with five receivers and let Branch go to keep a player at a different position.”

So would the Seahawks cut Branch?

Based on the report, Seattle is content with Deon Butler moving forward as the team’s third receiver.  He is a much cheaper option than Branch, and shedding his large contract would be lovely cap relief heading into the season.

If the Seahawks cut Branch, it would not be a shock to see him wind up in Denver under his former offensive coordinator and now Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels.

With a recent injury to Jabar Gaffney and reports the team is quietly shopping Brandon Marshall, there is suddenly an opening for a starting wide receiver spot.

That could intrigue Branch, especially if he could return to an offense he has some familiarity with.

Branch would allow veteran Brandon Stokley to remain in the slot, and when Gaffney returns from his thumb injury, the Broncos could have one of the deepest receiving groups in the league, even if they do trade Marshall.

This is all purely speculation, and there is no guarantee the Seahawks will rid of Branch. 

Even if they do not, and the Broncos maintain their current group, they still have arguably the most talented, deep unit in the NFL.

A mentally stable Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Stokley, Gaffney, Brandon Lloyd, Chad Jackson, and impressive rookie Kenny McKinley give the Broncos a very deep group of players to get the ball to.

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