It won’t be official for another day, but wide receiver Brandon Marshall might finally break his career postseason drought after signing a two-year, $12 million contract withe New York Giants.
Done Deal!!!! #GMEN pic.twitter.com/9sFpQBXjFx
— BEAST (@BMarshall) March 8, 2017
It’s hard not to be happy for Marshall over this development. Not only is this Giants team primed for another playoff run in 2017, but Marshall has never played with a quarterback of Eli Manning’s caliber before either. Not only that, Marshall, for the first time as a starter, won’t draw all the defensive attention because Odell Beckham Jr. will be on the other side of the field.
For Marshall’s personal life, he can stay in New York and even keep his job on Inside the NFL. It’s got to feel like a dream scenario.
The Giants get an elite playmaker just a year removed from a 109-catch, 1,502-yard, 14 touchdown season with the Jets. Not only that, but they get him at a nice little discount at $6 million a year. There’s no question that Marshall left money on the table with other teams in free agency. He wanted to stay in New York. He wanted to play for a contender. Now he does.
WOW. @BMarshall is teaming up with @OBJ_3: https://t.co/ZJE9QpBynQ (via @RapSheet) pic.twitter.com/tpQxGMfP7u
— NFL (@NFL) March 8, 2017
The fun thing about this move, and really everything the Giants have done over the last two seasons, is it shows they’re not idiots. They know their window is closing with Eli Manning and they’re trying to maximize his final seasons in the league. Green Bay could take a few notes on this as Aaron Rodgers gets up there in years.
Marshall leaving free agency early may change the market on the two best remaining wideouts, Alshon Jeffrey and DeSean Jackson, and make other wide receiver-needy teams more desperate.
Joe Mixon burns up the turf at Oklahoma’s Pro Day
Joe Mixon couldn’t participate in the NFL Combine thanks to some old off-the-field issues, but scouts ans coaches didn’t have to wait too long to see how good he was at exercising. Wednesday at Okalahoma’s Pro Day Mixon laid down a 4.43 40-yard dash to go with a 35-inch vertical jump, two measurable stats that might have put him in the second round conversation of April’s NFL Draft.
Joe Mixon's 4.43 40.
Live stream/results ➡️ https://t.co/xRORfh82iV pic.twitter.com/idqnH7vx3o
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) March 8, 2017
Mixon carried the ball 187 times for 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns all while splitting carries with Samaje Perine (who also crossed 1,000 yards and scored double-digit touchdowns).
Vernon Davis re-ups with Redskins
The Washington Redskins are probably losing both their starting wide receivers to free agency in DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, but Tuesday they at least shored up their tight end group by re-signing Vernon Davis to a three-year, $15 million contract.
#Redskins TE Vernon Davis signed a 3-year contract last night, per his snapchat, worth $15M, per a source. Nice payday and comeback.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2017
Davis is about three years removed from his elite player status, but he’s still a solid weapon and especially as a back up to Jordan Reed or in two TE sets, he can be downright dangerous. Last year Davis caught 59 passes for 583 yards and two touchdowns for Washington. Considering that was Davis’ 11th year in the league, that’s not too bad.
This is almost definitely his final NFL contract and while he’s not been a Hall of Fame caliber player, Davis has put forth a solid career and even got to claim a Super Bowl ring with the 2015 Denver Broncos. Not too bad.
Colts and Doyle put the paper to it
Jack Doyle emerged as a serious threat in the passing game for an under-performing Indianapolis Colts team last season and Tuesday night they made sure he wouldn’t escape the building.
The Colts and Doyle reached a new contract agreement that will keep him from becoming a free agent with a three-year, $19 million deal with $2 million more in incentives.
NEWS ALERT: Indianapolis Colts set to keep TE Jack Doyle on 3-year deal.
(via @MikeGarafolo) pic.twitter.com/IEa7CKP1xI
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 8, 2017
Last year, Doyle’s first year as a starter after Coby Fleenor left in free agency, he caught 59 passes for 584 yards and five touchdowns.
“Jack is a consummate professional who is highly revered among all in this organization,” Colts’ General Manager Chris Ballard said in a statement. “He possesses a tremendous amount of talent and you can witness how much he loves playing the game when you watch him compete. Jack has emerged as a leader in his four seasons with this team and we’re thrilled he’ll be returning.”
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