ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -Even if NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decides not to suspend Denver Broncos star Brandon Marshall over his off-the-field behavior, the third-year receiver and his team are already paying the price for his transgressions.
A cloud has hung over the team ever since training camp began last month, just days after Marshall was summoned to Goodell’s New York offices on July 18 to explain a series of misdeeds, most notably his March 6 arrest on a domestic violence warrant filed by his former girlfriend in Atlanta.
The commissioner is mulling whether Marshall, who is due in court next month for a drunken driving trial, has violated the league’s personal conduct policy and should miss some games and paychecks.
Marshall met with the commissioner on July 18 and he and the Broncos had hoped to hear back from Goodell by now but realize the commissioner had his hands full dealing with the Brett Favre saga.
With Favre reinstated, they’re expecting to hear something very soon.
As he brushed past reporters on his way into the locker room after practice Monday, Marshall said he hadn’t heard about any possible punishment.
“Nope. Nope,” he said. “I’m just playing.”
And playing well.
Marshall emerged as quarterback Jay Cutler’s primary target during a breakout 2007 season, but in March he needed surgery on his right arm after he fell into a television set, he said, while horsing around with his brother.
Despite missing most of the team’s offseason workouts as a result, Marshall has put aside any worries about his health or Goodell’s pending verdict to consistently shine at practice.
All the while, the Broncos have been bracing for a two- to four-game suspension while hoping Marshall simply gets a warning.
The NFL Network reported Sunday that Marshall would receive a three-game suspension that could be reduced to two games if he agrees to counseling. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello, however, told The Associated Press on Monday that the league had nothing to report regarding Marshall.
“As soon as we have something, we will announce it,” Aiello said.
Coach Mike Shanahan has grown tired of answering questions about Marshall’s status.
“It’s the same as when I was asked a week ago. I have nothing to report. I will comment to you when I hear something,” Shanahan said Monday. “If I made comments every time I heard a rumor, I’ll be talking to you every day and have to answer every question you ask. Let’s deal with reality. We’ll let you guys know when we know something.”
If Marshall is suspended for two games, he’ll miss the team’s season opener at Oakland on Sept. 8 and its home opener against San Diego the following week.
A longer suspension would put a big crimp in the Broncos’ season, one which Shanahan has publicly predicted will end with the team’s first playoff berth since 2005.
“He doesn’t deserve any of that because he is not a bad guy,” cornerback Dre’ Bly said. “You hear stuff about what the other guys are doing. He is out here working hard, and he is ready to go.
“I’m hoping Brandon will be with us the first couple of games because he is a big part of what we do.”
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