NFL Afc West

Send your NFL questions (along with your name and location) to NFLFanHouse@gmail.com. Each Thursday, we'll answer the best -- or, if nothing else, most entertaining -- in our NFL Mailbag.

Excluding Brett Favre, which remaining free agent can play the biggest role in 2009?

The easy answer (INCLUDING Brett Favre!!) is Plaxico Burress. He's a high-ceiling, high-impact wide receiver. You saw the way the Giants' offense missed him at the end of 2008, and we've seen a handful of teams express interest in him -- even though nobody knows if he's going to play in 2009. If he is allowed to play, he's your answer. But it looks increasingly likely that he'll be suspended for at least part of the season, if not all. So in the non-Burress division, I have three veterans who could make an interesting impact in the right situation:

When rumors about Brandon Marshall leaving the Broncos started percolating, most people assumed that the wide receiver wanted a trade because he was either unhappy about his contract or unhappy that the team traded quarterback Jay Cutler to the Bears. Those may both be valid, but he started dreaming about a departure from the Rockies long before either of those issues came to the forefront.

The first inklings of Marshall's desire occurred way back in 2007, although he didn't make them known to any member of the Broncos front office. Pro Football Talk unearthed a copy of the police report from an incident of suspected DUI, which featured Marshall's colorful initial trade request.

Mike Brown was drafted out of Nebraska in the second round of the 2000 draft by the Chicago Bears. Since then, he's been in Chicago, mixing in solid safety play with lots of injury issues. One thing no one would dispute: When he's on the field, Mike Brown is a very good NFL player.

Earlier this offseason, the Bears cut ties with Brown --his contract had expired and they decided not to re-up -- after exactly 100 games of service. According to a report from KansasCity.com, the Chiefs have decided to sign the safety. He'll likely compete with Bernard Pollard and Jarrad Page for a shot to start in the Kansas City secondary. At the very least, he adds plenty of depth and experience.

Last week, the Denver Broncos' Brandon Marshall requested a trade. Just like former teammate quarterback Jay Cutler a few months before. Cutler got his wish (he's now in Chicago), but head coach Josh McDaniels says he has no plans to grant Marshall his wish.

Of course, that's what McDaniels said about Cutler right up till he was traded, so who knows how this works out. In the meantime, the 33-year-old, first-year head coach, like the rest of us, will have to wait and see on Marshall, who left Denver yesterday to resume his holdout.

As we passed along yesterday, Brandon Marshall has requested that the Denver Broncos trade him. According to reports from the Denver area Tuesday, that request will be granted by Broncos' owner Pat Bowlen.

"Yes there was a meeting between Brandon, and Mr. Bowlen. There was a request for a trade. Mr. Bowlen has said that ownership will do everything in it's power to accommodate his wishes," said Marshall's agent Kennard McGuire to Fox31 Sports' Josina Anderson Tuesday morning.

Later in the day, McGuire told FanHouse's Calvin Watkins that the two sides will progress with trade talks, despite Broncos coach Josh McDaniels' claim that he expects Marshall to attend the team's training camp.

The word from the front office in Denver (outside of McDaniels) wasn't much, as they merely offered a "no comment." Teaming the report with the information we have in front of us -- in addition to the way the Jay Cutler fiasco went down -- it would appear Marshall will be wearing a different uniform come Week 1 of the season.

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There's a feeling of déjà vu in the mile-high air around Denver on Monday, as Brandon Marshall's displeasure with the Denver Broncos has moved into the trade-demand stage.

A source close to the situation told FanHouse's Calvin Watkins that Marshall is questioning the team's direction after the Cutler trade, and that concern led Marshall to meet with owner Pat Bowlen.

During a radio interview with 850 KOA in Denver, Adam Schefter of the NFL Network (soon of ESPN) said that Marshall's trade request came after the wide receiver decided not to report to the opening of the Broncos' mandatory minicamp. Marshall told Bowlen, "I think I'd like to be traded," and Schefter said Marshall was unlikely to change his mind, despite Bowlen's request that he take some time to consider options.

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It was only a matter of time. Jay Cutler is now the quarterback of the Chicago Bears. The Bears lack a proven No. 1 receiver. Brandon Marshall was Cutler's favorite target last season for the Denver Broncos. Marshall is unhappy about his current contract situation in Denver. Add those four sentences together and what comes out? A "rumor" about Marshall being traded to the Bears -- who do have the cap space to take on Marshall and give him a raise.

Now, let us take this all with a grain of salt at this point. The Broncos still insist Marshall is not going to be traded, and the linked discussion of Marshall-to-the-Bears was kick-started by a fan email. Still, the idea makes too much sense from the Bears' perspective to completely ignore.

Josh McDaniels replaced Mike Shanahan six months ago. He's yet to coach a real live game but he's somehow managed to lose his Pro Bowl quarterback, and depending on how the next few weeks unfold, he could have his hands full with one of the league's best young wide receivers, too.

Not exactly how McDaniels envisioned things back in January but it is, as they say, what it is. So after trading Jay Cutler to the Bears for a couple first-rounders and Kyle Orton, and then signing free agent Chris Simms to compete for the job, McDaniels used organized team activities to settle on a starter.

Two weeks ago, Brandon Marshall said he was staying away from Denver Broncos workouts because he wanted to rehab his surgically repaired hip at home in Florida. That his decision was made just after making a request for a raise was just a coincidence, or so he said.

That claim became a lot harder to believe on Friday when Marshall failed to appear for the start of the Broncos' mandatory minicamp. CBS4 in Denver is reporting that Marshall is in the city and will meet with Broncos owner Pat Bowlen on Friday afternoon.

An offseason of turbulence continued in Denver this week as wide receiver Brandon Marshall retreated to Florida to continue his rehab from hip surgery. The move came after Marshall went to coach Josh McDaniels with a request for a raise last week. Marshall's attorney claims that there's no ulterior motive to Marshall's move, but if it looks and smells like a holdout, it's probably a holdout.

His chances of getting a new deal may take a blow on Sunday when ESPN's Outside The Lines broadcasts an interview with Marshall's former girlfriend Rasheeda Watley. Marshall and Watley's volitile relationship, and the resulting allegations of domestic violence led to a one-game suspension for Marshall during the 2008 season.