Zach Thomas: Trade 12th pick for Brandon Marshall

Former Dolphin great Zach Thomas said if he was running the team he wouldn’t hesitate to trade the No. 12 pick in this year’s draft for Denver wide receiver Brandon Marshall. “Do it now,” Thomas said. “Before anybody changes their mind.” Appearing with Sid Rosenberg on WQAM-560, Thomas also strongly encouraged Dolphin management to bring back Jason Taylor for at least another year and gave his stamp of approval to the re-signing of both Chad Pennington and Jason Ferguson. On Marshall: “With Brandon Marshall it’s about money. If you pay the guy well he’s gonna play hard. He even played hard last year. He’s got a lot of pride, and he can be a little selfish, but good players are selfish. Look at a guy like Terrell (Owens), guys can go to extremes. But Brandon Marshall is a proven player; he’s still young, and I feel he’s best in the league right now. “It’s not even a first and a third. Miles Austin is a first and third because (Dallas wants) to keep him. He’s a first round? It would make everybody better. It would make Ted Ginn better, it would make (Greg) Camarillo better, (Davone) Bess. That’s who they need. Because if you’re gonna take a chance on Dez Bryant – I don’t know much about college, I go by what I hear – but if you’re gonna take a chance, you don’t need that. You go with a guy that’s proven.” Thomas said the departure of Joey Porter makes re-signing Taylor all the more important. “Yes, you build through the draft, but you have to have that veteran leadership. You just lost Joey Porter, just lost Jason Taylor, and trust me you need that blend, especially on defense, you need that experience. They re-signed Jason Ferguson, but (him) being out eight weeks I’m concerned about how they can keep that defensive line intact. “Look at New England, what they did to their defense. They lost Mike Vrabel, they lost (Tedy) Bruschi, (Richard) Seymour, Rodney Harrison, and you see how they dropped off last year. Everybody talked about Tom Brady not being as good because of his injury — that had nothing to do with it. He had less opportunities. The

defense is what won a lot of games for them in the past. So you need that blend. I’m biased, but I definitely feel they have to sign Jason Taylor back again. He’s a bargain price, he’s a pro, he’ll teach the young guys how to be a pro, how to take care of your body, the preparation. You don’t win on Sundays, you win during the week, and those things are more important. ” Thomas said he was familiar with new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan from his stops at Baltimore, San Francisco and Denver and called his addition “the biggest pickup they made.” Thomas also said the return of Pennington can only help the development of Chad Henne. “I like Chad (Henne). He’s got the mechanics, got a great arm, and he’s gonna learn. But it was a great pickup getting Pennington back. He’s a winner. And you make those guys compete. I know you’re gonna keep Chad Henne in there, and he is the future. But you want somebody behind him to pressure him. “He is a winner. And if he welcomes the competition, like he’s said, that’s great. You need to have an open competition. He is the future. I really like the guy. He had some mistakes, but it was his first year. I feel like he’ll be a great player in the future.” While Thomas hasn’t filed his official retirement papers with the league, he made it clear his playing days are over. He said he will be touring training camps this summer stressing to players and coaches the importance of monitoring head injuries. Asked by Rosenberg if he’d like to get into coaching, he said he’d be happy to help out and share his knowledge in training camp but doesn’t see himself as a coach. “The hours I put in with football, my wife would leave me,” he said with a laugh. “You have to move around; every coach is gonna get fired. I wouldn’t want that. I’d like to help out in camp.” Rosenberg said Thomas will join him and Joe Rose as a regular contributor starting later this year.

See the original post:
Zach Thomas: Trade 12th pick for Brandon Marshall

Comments

Leave a comment

Name (required)

E-mail (required)

URI

Your Message