METAIRIE, La. — Brandon Marshall was asked if he can still do it like he used to. He responded with a coy smile.
“No, I’m done. I’m washed up,” said the 34-year-old wide receiver, who signed with the New Orleans Saints on Monday after being released by the Seattle Seahawks two weeks ago. “What my film says this year is what it is.”
Marshall had some fun with the topic — but also showed plenty of self-awareness Wednesday while admitting that he knows the “narrative is that I’m done.”
The six-time Pro Bowler said being cut twice already in 2018 has been humbling. However, he said injuries were a big reason for that after he finished last season on injured reserve with an ankle injury, then had toe surgery, then dealt with a hamstring injury this summer. He said he has been “fit as a fiddle” and “healthy as a trout” since Week 3 or 4.
Marshall also is excited to join quarterback Drew Brees, whom he called “a wide receiver’s dream,” and a red-hot 8-1 team that will give him a chance to make his first playoff appearance in his 13-year career.
“I’ve spent most of my career as the guy on top, All-Pro, Pro Bowl guy … and I’m at the bottom right now,” said Marshall, who was released by the New York Giants in April before his stint with Seattle. “I got an amazing opportunity to go to the Seahawks. That was an amazing experience. I just wasn’t healthy enough. So when you’re on the other side of 30 and you don’t produce, this is the situation you’ll find yourself in. So I’m excited and grateful for this opportunity, and I love playing football, and it’s something I want to continue to do.”
Marshall said being cut twice in one year is “interesting,” but it “built a lot of character.”
“I’ve always been a guy that handles adversity well — well, maybe not early on in my career, I didn’t do a great job. But what I mean about handling adversity is I always picked myself up,” said Marshall, who has talked about working to mature as a person and a teammate throughout his career, while also becoming an advocate for people dealing with mental health issues. “And in this situation, when Seattle cut me, I just continued to work out, stay in shape and have faith.
“Made a few phone calls to see if someone could pull a favor to get a workout. I knew once I worked out, I would look good. I’m healthy now and ready to roll.”
Marshall said he was actually surprised and “a little devastated” when the Saints didn’t sign him after he was happy with his workout last Tuesday. He said he had his suit ready to travel with the team to Cincinnati in Week 10.
Instead, the Saints opted to sign another out-of-work star — Dez Bryant — who wound up tearing his Achilles tendon during Friday’s practice. So the Saints called Marshall, and he was back on a plane to New Orleans on Sunday while they were dismantling the Bengals, 51-14.
Marshall still has to prove he can do it on the field. He had only 11 catches for 136 yards and one touchdown in seven games with the Seahawks before being phased out of the rotation — and most of that production came in the first three weeks, before he said he got fully healthy.
It was a similar situation with the Giants last year, when Marshall had just 18 catches for 154 yards and zero touchdowns in five games before landing on IR.
But the Saints could find a role — especially in the red zone — for a 6-foot-5, 232-pound receiver who holds the NFL record with six seasons of 100-plus receptions. Especially since he will now be catching passes from the most accurate QB in NFL history.
“Our paths have crossed a bunch of places off the field. We played in the Pro Bowl together. I’ve known of him for a long time, really heard a lot of good things about him, been a fan of his just watching him on film,” Brees said. “He’s a smart, veteran guy who is very fluid. Seen him in a lot of different offenses. Seen him be successful both as an outside receiver, an inside receiver. He’s very versatile. He’s a big target, a big catching radius. Just watching him run today, he’s pretty impressive.”
Whether or not Marshall can start helping the Saints on Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles — or four days later on Thanksgiving night against the Atlanta Falcons — remains to be seen. Marshall said he played for a similar offense with the Chicago Bears when former Saints assistant Aaron Kromer was the offensive coordinator there. But now that he’s with his seventh team in his NFL career, Marshall knows there is an adjustment period.
“He’s pretty smart. I don’t think that’s gonna be [a problem],” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “He’s had it now for 24 hours, and I feel like he has two positions. It’s one of his strengths.
“This’ll give us a chance to see where he’s at, and week by week take a peek and try to evaluate his skill set to see where and if it fits what we’re doing.”
PITTSBURGH — Le’Veon Bell has officially left $14.5 million on the table.
The All-Pro running back failed to report to Pittsburgh Steelers headquarters Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, the deadline for him to play this season on the franchise tag.
The All-Pro RB was not bluffing, as he’ll sit out the 2018 season. What will the Steelers do next? Who will want to sign him next offseason?
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Two franchise tags, $855K lost per week and one lost season. The stalemate is finally over, but getting to this point is a complicated story.
Le’Veon Bell used to be one of the most valuable non-quarterbacks against the spread in Las Vegas. Here’s why that isn’t the case anymore.
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“I want to confirm that Le’Veon Bell did not sign his Franchise Tender today and, as a result, he will not be eligible to play football during the 2018 season,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement.
Bell, who’s currently in Pittsburgh, is missing the season to preserve his long-term viability for a 2019 contract despite telling ESPN on Oct. 1 that he would play in 2018.
“I’ll be fully committed and give you everything I have,” Bell said then. “I still want to go out there and win a Super Bowl with the Steelers.”
Rocky franchise-tag negotiations created distance between Bell and the Steelers. Bell missed 2017 training camp when both sides couldn’t agree on a contract, and he eventually played on a $12.12 million tag. He took it a step further this year by missing games after turning down a five-year, $70 million offer because of what Bell calls a low true guarantee of $17 million. Bell has been able to stay away because he’s unsigned.
The Steelers explored dealing Bell before the Oct. 30 trade deadline, but no deal was possible without his signature. A third franchise tag in 2019 would rise to $25 million-plus — based on a formula involving the five highest-paid players in the league — regardless of whether Bell played a down in 2018. In the offseason, the Steelers will consider using a $14.5 million transition tag, which allows them to match any outside offer for Bell or let him walk in free agency. If he signed a lucrative deal elsewhere, the Steelers would receive a midround compensatory draft pick.
When asked what happens if Bell never returns to the Steelers, coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday afternoon, “So be it.”
Bell’s replacement, James Conner, is third in the NFL in rushing yards (771) and rushing touchdowns (10). He also leads the league with eight runs of 20-plus yards.
Teammates once imagined the possibilities with an All-Pro tailback and an emerging weapon working together. Now, after five consecutive wins, they’ve moved past that fantasy.
“I’m not going to comment on someone who’s not in this locker room right now,” quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said when asked about Bell after Thursday’s 52-21 win over the Carolina Panthers.
Said wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster last month: “[In Conner], you’ve got a young dude who’s just proving what he can do, to Steeler fans and the nation.”
Players were surprised when Bell didn’t show for Week 1, with his own offensive line ripping him for the absence. Guard Ramon Foster and center Maurkice Pouncey both labeled the move selfish. One veteran player told ESPN anonymously: “He f—ed us.”
Things have cooled since then, and many had said they’d welcome Bell back. That’s a moot point now.
Bell, who will turn 27 in February, had been training in South Florida and in July tweeted this season would be his “best to date.”
Bell produced nearly 2,000 total yards last year but started slowly, averaging 3.46 yards per carry through the first three weeks of the season. Bell’s average of 128.9 total yards per game from 2013 to 2017 is the highest for an NFL back over the first five seasons of a career since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970.
Up until late last week, the Steelers were bracing for the return of Bell, who played basketball at a local LA Fitness last week. But ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported this past weekend that Bell was unlikely to show.
“I don’t know what his plans are, but I would say that at this point, we expect him to come back next week,” team president Art Rooney II told SiriusXM NFL Radio on Thursday. “We know he’s back in Pittsburgh, and so we’re hoping to have some communications with him over the weekend, and we’re kind of expecting he will be back next week.”
