Green Bay Packers should pursue LB Brandon Marshall

Given the Green Bay Packers’ need for depth at inside linebacker, they should look into the recently released, Brandon Marshall.

Prior to the preseason and even offseason programs beginning, many had thought that the inside linebacker position was the weakest part of this Green Bay Packers team. However at this point, with the injuries to Oren Burks and Curtis Bolton, we know that to be true.

Outside of Blake Martinez there really isn’t anyone that Green Bay can trust to put onto the field. As I mentioned, Burks and Bolton are hurt, Brady Sheldon has been cut already, James Crawford hasn’t improved at all defensively and just looks like a special teams player, while Ty Summers has had some nice moments, his tackling needs to improve and he just isn’t ready to be a starter.

So as it currently stands, we are going to likely see a lot of Raven Greene next to Martinez in dime packages. But that shouldn’t stop the Packers from looking to bring in some depth to the inside linebacker position and there may not be a better option on the market than the recently released Brandon Marshall.

After spending most of his career with the Denver Broncos where he was a Super Bowl Champion, totaled over 100 tackles three times in a four-year stretch, and was a leader on the defensive side of the ball, Marshall signed a one year deal with Oakland this past offseason.

Unfortunately for Marshall, a knee injury kept him out of five games last season and it lingered into the offseason as he spent most of the time rehabbing during offseason programs. That missed time, coupled with the emergence of other players at the position ultimately led to his release.

What the Green Bay Packers need is a coverage linebacker to compliment Martinez’ skill set and they hope that’s the player Burks can be when he returns. However, until we get to that point, Marshall is a viable option.

Jon Gruden even called him “one of the best coverage linebackers in football” which may have been true at one point in his career, but that part of his game has declined in recent seasons. According to Pro Football Focus, Marshall allowed 12.1 yards per catch in 2018 and a Quarterback Rating of 115.2 in 2017.

With that said, Marshall is still only 29-years-old and if he is fully healthy – which will be key in all of this – he can provide the Packers with another leader on the defensive side of the ball as well as someone who is a proven coverage linebacker, even though he may not be as good as he once was.

Given all of the moves that the Packers made this offseason to improve the defensive side of the ball, a reliable linebacker next to Martinez may be all that is needed to take this defense to the next level.

As far as for Marshall’s contract, he had signed a one year – $1.2 million deal with Oakland so by no means will be break the bank as the Packers could likely bring him in on a one year “prove it” deal.

Of course, if Green Bay did land Marshall expectations should be tempered. At this point, I don’t know that we can expect him to be a game-changer but he will provide them with some much-needed stability and depth at the position.