Remembering Fallen Teammates

Denver Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall intended to wear the wristbands during every game this season.

His late teammates would be with him on every route. For every catch, for every miss.

The wristbands, bearing the names of Darrent Williams and Damien Nash, instead are in a trophy case in Marshall’s house. Marshall realized he needed to keep them there to keep his emotions in check while playing.

“If I look down and I see a Darrent Williams bracelet and a Damien Nash bracelet and I get to thinking — I mean, it could be in the middle of a play, it could be fourth quarter, fourth down, and that’s how emotional I am. It could get to me, just knowing that they’re still supposed to be here,” he says.

If they were here, Williams, a cornerback, and Nash, a running back, surely would be celebrating Marshall’s breakout year. Through four games the 6-4 receiver is one of Denver’s leaders with team highs in receiving yards (290), touchdown catches (two) and receptions (20).

“He’s a stud,” Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler says. “You just put one high and he’s going to go up and get it. He’s going to make a play for you, and the first guy’s probably not going to take him down.

“He’s going to get some yards after the catch and give you a chance to score.”

If Williams and Nash were here, Marshall’s breakout season wouldn’t be braided with so much real-life perspective.

“I think about them all the time,” Marshall, 23, says.

Marshall, in his second year out of the University of Central Florida, was with both players in the moments before they died.

He struggles with feeling he was partly responsible for the tensions that preceded Williams’ drive-by shooting death early Jan. 1.

Marshall also carries the memory of trying to comfort Nash’s wife when her husband collapsed at home and could not be revived, hours after playing alongside Marshall in a charity basketball game Feb. 24.

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