The Colts don’t have an urgent need at wide receiver, but Brandon Marshall is in for a visit.
With the free agent addition of Devin Funchess and the drafting of Parris Campbell, the Indianapolis Colts don’t seem to need a wide receiver. But according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, veteran Brandon Marshall is in for a workout on Friday.
Marshall played seven games for the Seattle Seahawks last season, with just 11 receptions for 136 yards and a touchdown before being cut in late October. The New Orleans Saints signed him fairly quickly on Nov. 12, but he did not appear in any games before they also cut him in December.
In 2017, Marshall had 18 catches for 154 yards for the New York Giants before a season-ending ankle injury in Week 5. In his last fully healthy season, 2016 with the New York Jets, he looked like a declining player with 59 receptions for 788 yards and three touchdowns.
Marshall’s last healthy and highly productive season, 2015 with the Jets when he had 109 catches for 1,502 yards and a tied for league-high 14 touchdowns, is now well in the rearview mirror at 35 years old.
The Colts have T.Y. Hilton, Funchess, Campbell, Chester Rogers to fill out their wide receiver depth chart, along with Deon Cain and Zach Pascal down the pecking order to fill out the roster. They also have two capable tight ends in Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle, and a third with potential in Mo Alie-Cox, so it’s hard to see where Marshall would fit in if he were signed.
NFL teams continually shape emergency lists of available players in case injuries hit. If nothing else Marshall’s resume, with six Pro Bowl selections and top-25 standing on the all-time receiving yards list (12,351 yards; 22nd), puts him toward the top of any list of available wide receivers a week-plus into training camps.
The Colts are kicking the tires on a old car in Marshall here, just to see if there’s something shiny under a couple years of dirt and injury-diminished rust. Maybe Andrew Luck can extract some value if the team sees a fit and Marshall lasts into the regular season.