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HBO’s hit documentary Hard Knocks, which chronicles an NFL team as it’s put through the rigors of training camp, is received so positively by fans because it peels back the curtain of a multi-billion-dollar business, giving the masses a behind-the-scenes glimpse unlike anything else.
For players, especially those who meet The Turk while the show is filmed, it’s not so enjoyable — players like linebacker Brandon Marshall, an eighth-year veteran on his third professional team.
Marshall was waived by the Oakland Raiders, this year’s Hard Knocks subject, at final cuts on Saturday, an event aired for all the world to see.
And he had a front-row seat.
“They didn’t have me on hard knocks all season. But want to show me when I’m at my worst. Daaaaammnn,” Marshall wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, attaching a video clip from the episode.
Marshall, 29, signed a one-year contract with the Raiders in free agency, changing AFC West hats following six seasons in Denver. He was billed as a candidate to start at inside linebacker for Oakland, healed from a knee injury that plagued his 2018 campaign.
But the business being a business, Marshall was unceremoniously dumped by Raiders coach Jon Gruden, who told Broncos media — ahead of the teams’ Week 1 matchup — it was “tough, really tough” to cut him.
“A lot of our players, it was on a TV show the last five weeks,” Gruden added.
Marshall worked out for the Houston Texans on Monday but left without a contract.
Broncos Reunion Not in Store
Marshall was a five-year starter for Denver from 2014-18, and was a difference-maker in helping the team upset Carolina in Super Bowl 50. Then a series of injuries took their toll, sapping what little coverage ability Marshall possessed while damaging his NFL longevity.
The Broncos moved on from Marshall to go younger at the position, thrusting sophomore Josey Jewell into his shoes, opposite Todd Davis. Exes are exes for a reason, and the team clearly turned the page, even if Marshall hadn’t.
The Broncos did sign an experienced ILB after final cuts, but it wasn’t Marshall, who remains a free agent. And is likely to remain one until an injury strikes somewhere around the league.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL
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