Raiders Re-Sign LB Brandon Marshall

by Tom LaMarre

The Oakland Raiders did not make a deal before the trade deadline passed on Tuesday, but later in the day they re-signed linebacker Brandon Marshall, and to make room on the roster they waived linebacker Justin Phillips.

The 6-1, 250-pound Marshall, who is in his eighth NFL season, was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Raiders during the offseason and told that as a native of Las Vegas he would be a big part of their move there next season.

However, the 30-year-old was released when the Raiders cut down to their regular-season roster of 53 players a few days before their opener against the Denver Broncos, Marshall’s former team.

On his way out the door in September, Marshall tweeted out this message: “They said they only had a one-year deal for me, but they really sold me on Vegas. They said, ‘Look, we want you to help us plant the flag in Las Vegas. We feel like you’re a leader, and we need leaders on the defense, we need alphas on the defense.’ That’s what (Coach) Jon Gruden said, so that kind of made me feel good.

“It’s funny because when I went there, they showed me the whole model of the Vegas stadium. So I was like, ‘OK, this is their selling point for me.’ I’m not sure about everybody else, but for me, they knew, ‘Let’s talk to Brandon about Vegas.’ And it worked.”

Marshall was chosen by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the fifth round (No. 142 overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft out of Nevada and played one season with the Jaguars before being released and signed by the Broncos.

The highlight of Marshall’s six seasons in Denver was 2016, when he helped the Broncos win the AFC West with a 12-4 record before they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots in the playoffs, and downed the Carolina Panthers, 24-10, in Super Bowl 50. He made five tackles in that game.

Marshall’s best individual season was 2017, when he was credited with 06 tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and four passes defensed.

In seven NFL seasons, Marshall has started 63 of the 74 games in which he has played,

totaling 412 tackles (301 solo), 6.5 sacks, two interceptions, 21 passes defensed, four forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.

In seven playoff appearances including four starts, he has had 20 tackles, two passes defensed and one forced fumble.

Marshall was a four-year starter at Nevada, recording 259 tackles (145 unassisted), including 40 for losses, six sacks, three interceptions, three forced fumbles and seven fumble recoveries.

The 6-foot, 224-pound Phillips signed this season with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State before being released at the end of training camp and signing with the Raiders’ practice squad.

Phillips was placed on the 53-man roster before the fourth game of the season against the Indianapolis Colts and in three games with the Raiders he made four tackles (two solo) on defense and added three tackles on special teams.