In one corner, ESPN’s Adam Schefter and NFLN’s Jason La Canfora report that the Broncos and receiver Brandon Marshall have launched contract discussions in the wake of Marshall’s return from a suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
In the other corner, Mike Klis of the Denver Post says that nothing is happening, yet.
The latter position makes sense. Why should the Broncos think about paying Marshall without knowing what he’ll do after an offseason of discontent -- and with Kyle Orton instead of Jay Cutler throwing the passes?
That said, it also makes some sense to give Marshall a glimpse of the carrot he’s chasing. So if the talks consisted only of early negotiations aimed at making Marshall aware that a new deal could be had if he works hard and behaves, those discussions could result in short-term benefits for the Broncos, even if there’s never a new contract.