The New York Giants made a splash in the NFL free-agent market with the addition of veteran wide receiver Brandon Marshall.
Marshall will be joining a young and talented Giants receiving corps which includes the likes of Odell Beckham Jr. and Sterling Shepard.
Beckham Jr. and Shepard, among other Giants wideouts, were the subject of controversy back in January as the group took a boat trip to Miami a week before the team’s Wild Card game against the Green Bay Packers.
The move was highly criticized from the get-go, but matters were made worse after the Giants were crushed by the Packers 38-13, a game in which the New York offense underperformed considerably.
Marshall, the newest Giants receiver, believes that his veteran stature and leadership qualities could have prevented the trip had he been with the team last season.
“You know what? No, it doesn’t happen,” Marshall said on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” Thursday, as transcribed by FOX Sports. “Well, I can’t say that. Everyone is different. But I would have been against that, and partly because of my pains, right? I’ve been in the league so long and I’ve never made the playoffs. So for me, I’m a guy … I’m in year 11, and I’m all in, because I know this opportunity doesn’t come around often. But then you have younger guys.”
Marshall clarified that he believes the trip did not impact the team’s performance against the Packers, but remained firm in his opposition towards the Miami getaway.
“So these guys are young, and they’re studs and they’ll get it,” Marshall said. “But for me, I’m just at a different place in my life, so I would have been against it. But I don’t think it had anything to do with their performance on Sunday.”
It’s clear that Marshall is confident in his leadership abilities, but we’ll have to wait and see how he gels in the Giants offense.
Thumbnail photo via William Hauser/USA TODAY Sports Images
