As the Patriots and Jets prepare to play for the second time this year, receiver Brandon Marshall is finishing his second year with the Jets. Amid speculation it will be his last in New York, and with the Patriots on the immediate docket, why not link him to New England?
“That’s intriguing, but that wouldn’t be my team,” Marshall told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News regarding the possibility of joining the Patriots. “I would be a rental player.”
That’s fine, but Marshall has sort of been a rental player his entire career. Four years with the Broncos, two years with the Dolphins, three years with the Bears, two with the Jets.
Through that 11-year NFL odyssey, Marshall hasn’t been to the playoffs once; during that span, the Patriots have qualified 10 times.
Making Marshall’s coyness about playing for the Patriots even more odd is that there’s no reason to believe New England wants him. The Patriots have had prior opportunities to get Marshall, and they didn’t. Four times. They didn’t draft him and, when he was available in trade on three different occasions, they didn’t make a move.
The soon-to-be-33-year-old Marshall called getting to the playoffs a “top priority,” but he apparently prefers to remain with a team that has no chance of getting to the playoffs. Possibly because being in New York gives him the best opportunity to nurture his budding media career, which will be his full-time career sooner than later.
That’s the other downside about playing for the Patriots. There’s no way coach Bill Belichick would allow Marshall to make Tuesday trips to New York for taping Inside the NFL. Belichick also would otherwise want Marshall to not say things that could in any way harm the interests of the team, directly or indirectly.
So while getting to the playoffs for Marshall may be a top priority, continuing to lay the foundation for a career in broadcasting is enough of a priority to keep Marshall from being a Patriot. Coupled with the fact that the Patriots have never shown any inclination to acquire him, it’s safe to assume the chances of it happening are slim.