Peyton Manning will surely want to play with talented receivers wherever he signs. But he’ll also want to play with reliable receivers who can be counted on to consistently meet his expectations. And in Miami, some doubt that Brandon Marshall fits that bill.
Marshall is undeniably talented, but Mike Berardino of the Sun Sentinel writes that Marshall could be a drag on the Dolphins’ pursuit of Manning, given his reputation for being difficult to deal with.
When Manning visited the Cardinals’ facilities on Sunday, Larry Fitzgerald didn’t only join the meeting because he’s a talented receiver. He also joined the meeting because he’s widely known as a congenial guy who works hard and gets along with his quarterbacks. That’s the type of person Manning will want to play with, and it’s fair to ask whether Marshall can be that kind of person.
Meanwhile, as everyone obsesses over Manning in Miami, things are changing by the minute. Sun Sentinel columnist Dave Hyde wrote on Twitter on Monday afternoon that the “Dolphins are out of the running for Peyton Manning, a source said.” After six minutes of furious re-tweeting around the NFL Twitter world, Hyde tweeted again, “Strike that: They are NOT out of the running. Dolphins are in the running.”
Expect the Manning stories to continue to go back and forth until he signs his name on a contract.
