ESPN's Ed Werder is reporting that Broncos WR Brandon Marshall and TE Tony Scheffler will not be in the locker room or on the sidelines for today's game against Kansas City. As was posted on this morning's Horse Tracks, Marshall's latest run-in with McDaniels started when he arrived late for a rehab treatment on his hamstring on Friday. ProFootballTalk explains(emphasis mine) -
According to Werder, Marshall was benched after he was late to therapy for his injured hamstring on Friday. That followed an MRI on Wednesday that showed no structural damage to his hamstring, something that contributed to the team's feeling that he might be exaggerating the extent of his injury.
The decision to bench Marshall and Scheffler, both of whom are banned from the locker room and sideline on Sunday, follows a meeting McDaniels had with several Broncos players on Monday. Werder cites Champ Bailey, Brian Dawkins and Kyle Orton as some of the players who urged the coach to stress accountability in the run-up to the game against the Chiefs.
Chris Mortensen, speaking on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, said that this indicates that there isn't much disagreement with McDaniels's decision even though the team is playing a game with playoff implications.
Should the Broncos make it to the postseason, Werder reports that there are no assurances that either Marshall or Scheffler would be back on the active roster.
I want those of you who think there is a brewing revolt going on in the locker room to read the BOLD again. On Monday, the LEADERS in the locker room wanted accountability. On Wednesday, Brandon Marshall undergoes a MRI on his hamstring that was injured earlier in the day, the results show NO DAMAGE. On Friday, Marshall is late for his rehab - showing to the Broncos that he is not doing all he can to be ready to play. Marshall's own words make it sound like he had no intention to play today.
Part of Werder's report also went deeper into what happened between the Broncos and Marshall -
The latest showdown between the head coach and the Pro Bowl receiver actually began the week before when Marshall excused himself from practice, complaining the cold weather was making it difficult for him to breathe.
Then, as the team reviewed tape of its loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, in which Marshall dropped several passes, McDaniels mentioned that certain plays had to be made. Marshall apparently felt he was being unfairly singled out for criticism.
Knee-jerk reactions are part of the 24-hour news cycle, but it seems to me, in Marshall's case anyway, that Josh McDaniels was simply doing what the the Leaders in the locker room wanted him to do - hold everyone accountable.