Brandon Marshall 2.0
How the Broncos linebacker changed his mind and body for his latest comeback
Brandon Marshall held on to what may be a career-altering tip for eight months. He couldn’t use it immediately — the Broncos were two weeks from starting training camp at the time — so he shelved it. And he never forgot it.
The tip was from Ray Lewis, one of the greatest middle linebackers in NFL history. Lewis met Marshall in July and told him the best way to rejuvenate his body after a string of painful and trying injuries was to get in the sand. Come to Miami, Lewis told him. Come to Miami and work out with him on the beach during the offseason.
This spring, Marshall, 27, finally used the tip, but he headed west instead, teaming with former Broncos defensive backs Omar Bolden and Duke Ihenacho for some grueling workouts in the Los Angeles sun.
It was one of the inside linebacker’s many stops en route to a full-body make-
over already noticeable by all. Even by those at Dove Valley who weren’t around to see the “before” version.
“I wasn’t here last year, but I know from the first day I’ve met him here, he’s been really engaged in what we’re doing,” Broncos coach Vance Joseph said. “Even in the weight room, those guys know it’s a different guy. His body looks different. He is engaged in football off the field and on. It’s fun to see.”
For Marshall, it’s fun to experience, too, after a season that weighed him. The backlash to his national anthem protests — which he does not regret at all, he said — weighed on him. The lingering pain from his surgically repaired foot injury and the ensuing pain from his hamstring injuries weighed on him. The stats that paled in comparison to his previous two seasons of 100-plus tackles weighed on him.
He didn’t quite know why or how, but mentally and physically Brandon Marshall wasn’t Brandon Marshall a season ago.
“I had a bad feeling,” he said. “I had a bad taste in my mouth all of last year. Even during the season, I was like, ‘I’m not making any plays. I’m not making plays.’ It just felt weird. I wanted to do something about that.”
And he did. He changed almost everything.
The body: “I plan to make all the plays.”
This was not your typical California vacation. The itinerary read something like this:
Mondays: Hill climbs. Backward, forward, side to side, nearly every way imaginable to inflict pain and improve endurance.
Fridays: Sand workouts. The speed and footwork drills common to Broncos practices were transferred to the beach. Shoes were shed in favor of bare feet to further strengthen Marshall’s right foot, which underwent multiple surgeries that involved inserting and removing screws and that Marshall believes led to compensation injuries in his left hamstring.
“I was telling guys my foot feels like it did before the injury. It finally feels good,” he said. “I had the hardware in for the Super Bowl year so it sustained me. It hurt, but I had the hardware in to make it stable. Then I took it out and it was a whole new ballgame (last year). So this offseason I did a lot of barefoot workouts to get all those foot muscles, calf muscles, ankles, everything strong.”
Days in between: Single-leg and core exercises to strengthen the midsection and the limbs that gave Marshall many fits over the last two seasons. Included in this regimen of one-legged exercises were single-leg box jumps, single-leg lunges, single-leg deadlifts and an emphasis on strength and explosiveness.
Marshall also changed his nutrition, opting for a ketogenic diet to force his body to burn fat instead of carbohydrates. Hasn’t always been easy, especially when there’s candy around just teasing his sweet tooth. But he traded in red meat for more fish, traded in the morning carbs for protein, traded in the early hunger pains for sustained energy. More energy, even. More explosiveness. More strength. “Last year, it was different,” he said. “When I came into training camp, I felt a difference. I wasn’t in as great a shape as I usually was. I think some of that goes to the training I was doing. I was doing a specific training for four years straight, and it got redundant. “I plan to have a completely opposite season. I plan to make all the plays.”
The mind: “I’m totally rejuvenated.”
The stop in L.A. in March was one of many during the Marshall Makeover. The sixth-year linebacker, who become one of the starring faces in the nationwide wave of anthem protests, had to get away. He had to rid his mind of the negativity engulfing him and his family for much of the season when he received threatening letters and nasty comments on social media.
Oh, he expected the backlash when he began the protests. He knew there was a chance he’d lose endorsements. He lost two. He knew there was a strong possibility he’d receive hate-filled letters. He received many, and still does. But, he would have done it all over again. Marshall made the point he set out to make, calling attention to societal issues, and is now focused on following through with action. The negative messages have been mixed with affirmations, including an honor from Harvard and alterations to the Denver Police Department’s use-offorce policy that together serve as his personal seals of approval.
“People still hit me up saying, ‘Well, go kneel again.’ They say little comments like that. But a lot of people actually respect me,” Marshall said. “One guy said, ‘I don’t agree with what you did, but I respect it and your right to protest and how you did it. And I respect the fact that you were able to do it by yourself in the national spotlight.’ That was dope to me.”
But the weight of kneeling alone as the cameras zeroed in on his every move week after week messed with his head, no matter how hard he tried to keep his mind on football.
“I was trying to focus on ball, but it was tough to just focus on ball,” he said. “I never thought about it while I was on the field or at practice. I think subconsciously maybe I did a little. And once I put that behind me, I hurt my hamstring again. One thing after another.
“I definitely don’t regret what I did. But it was tough.” So he started traveling. A lot. He went to Panama. He went to South Africa, where he and a group of fellow NFL players met children at an orphanage in Cape Town, faced the wrath of elephants at Kruger National Park and nearly passed out from seasickness during a shark-diving excursion off the coast of Gansbaai.
He jetted to Miami and then cross-country to San Francisco. He went to his hometown of Las Vegas. He kept moving, from the hills and sandy beaches of Los Angeles to any city a plane would take him.
And then he returned to Colorado, with a clear head, strengthened physique and hunger for his latest comeback.
“I’m ready,” he said. “I’m totally rejuvenated. I’m reenergized. I’m focused. I’m happy.”
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or @Nickijhabvala