The New Orleans Saints lost wide receiver Dez Bryant last week, but they didn’t have to wait long to call the next man up. The team signed Brandon Marshall, a longtime NFL vet, earlier this week and already had him practicing with the team on Wednesday.
Marshall met with local media after his first practice session to discuss the road that brought him to New Orleans and joke about what he has to offer his new team. From John DeShazier of NewOrleansSaints.com:
“I know the narrative is that I’m done. So getting out there and showing…being a big guy (6 feet 5, 232 pounds), running, getting in and out of my breaks, catching the ball, strong hands, picking up things fast – there’s just so much to it. I can’t pinpoint one thing but I know that I felt really good about the workout, so I was really devastated when it didn’t work out.”
Bryant was one of the three experienced wide receivers New Orleans put through a workout last week, ultimately signing Bryant and considering Marshall for another role. They ended up bringing Marshall in following Bryant’s injury, which pleased Saints quarterback Drew Brees:
“I’ve known of him for a long time, really heard a lot of good things about him. I’ve been a fan of his, just watching him on film. He’s a very smart, veteran guy who’s very fluid. I’ve seen him in a lot of different offenses really be successful, both as an outside receiver, as an inside receiver. I think he’s very versatile, there’s a lot of things he can do. He’s a big target, so big catching radius. Just watching him on today was pretty impressive. I’m excited about having him.”
As for the learning curve, Marshall actually brings some experience in what the Saints will be asking of him. Former Saints offensive line coach Aaron Kromer was the Chicago Bears offensive coordinator during Marshall’s time there, while his head coach at the time, Marc Trestman, interned on Sean Payton’s staff earlier in his career. So many of the play-by-play responsibilities and route concepts on Marshall’s plate won’t be new to him. If Brees and Marshall are confident they can make some plays together, that’s reason enough to believe them.