Denver Broncos Deal Brandon Marshall to Dolphins

Every defensive back in the AFC East just let out a collective groan, while every one of them in the AFC West just did backflips Jason-Pierre Paul style.

In a move simultaneously reported by Chris Mortensen and Adam Schefter, the Denver Broncos have dealt wide receiver Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins for a second-round pick in this month’s upcoming draft, and what is “thought to be” a second-round pick in 2011.

Marshall, according to Schefter, is on his way to Miami to take a physical and make the deal official. So far, neither the Dolphins’ website nor the Broncos’ website make any mention of the trade.

The Broncos had been itching to move Marshall almost as much as Marshall was itching to get out of town, so this would seemingly work for both sides. Miami has a young, strong-armed quarterback in Chad Henne who should be able to get Marshall the ball as early and as often as he could ever want, and the Broncos get two premium picks.

This deal has apparently been in the works for a couple days, and could be a big reason why Ted Ginn is now on the market. In fact, when I heard this trade went down, I was a bit surprised Ginn wasn’t a part of it. The Broncos are now hurting for wide receivers, and without making a trade of their own will have no choice but to draft one very early.

This could be part of the Broncos’ plan to move up and take Dez Bryant, a guy many feel could turn into a No. 1 receiver very early in his career, or they could sit in the second round and hope a guy like Demaryius Thomas falls.

The Dolphins, on the other hand, are starting to look like they could field one hell of an offense. Chad Henne is only going to get better as he develops with a guy like Marshall at wide receiver along with Anthony Fasano at tight end and a 1-2 punch of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams behind him.

They won’t be the most explosive offense in the league, but they’re going to scare a lot of defensive coordinators.

We’ve seen more trades this offseason than in recent memory and, by all accounts, there will be even more in the days leading up to the draft, during the draft, and even the next week or two following the draft. I’m all for bringing the salary cap back, but at least we can enjoy the drama the restricted free agent market has brought for one season.

UPDATE: With his tender from this season included, Marshall’s deal in Miami is essentially 5 years, $50 million with $24 million guaranteed. The deal makes him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league.