As Denver Broncos Brandon Marshall enters his fourth NFL season, the wide receiver is demanding a new contract or a trade. Because the former has been denied, Marshall has become adamant in pursuing the latter—a request the Broncos organization are forbidding, despite allowing a justifiably disgruntled quarterback Jay Cutler to leave for the Chicago Bears, a team with enough young offensive powers [think Devin Hester and Matt Forte] to contend for a playoff spot this season.

Although Chicago is in a different conference and wouldn’t become a threat unless a February 2010 trip to the Super Bowl in Miami transpires, the trade really was absurd. This contention is despite the Broncos receiving a 2009 first and third round picks, a 2010 first round pick, and quarterback Kyle Orton. And it is because of Orton, the person of interest, that the trade becomes even more problematic.

While playing football at Purdue, Orton was at one time a potential Heisman Trophy nominee. After the Bears traded up for him, he became second to two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger in terms of victories earned during a rookie season. Orton won 10 games in 15 starts with the Bears, while Big Ben captured 14 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Those numbers mean nothing unless it leads to a ring acquisition, of which Roethlisberger has two and Orton none.

One could counter that Cutler lacks the same hand bling as Orton, which is obviously true. One also could resurrect their passing yards from last season. Cutler and Orton threw for a respective franchise record of 4,526 and 2,997 yards respectively in 2008. Each had a comparable touchdown-interception ratio: Cutler had25 touchdowns compared to 18 picks, while Orton threw six less interceptions than his 18 touchdowns.

That said, there are differences between the two. Cutler is a Pro Bowl quarterback, while Orton was competing with “Sexy Rexy” [Rex Grossman] for a starting position in the Chi. A quarterback’s legitimacy becomes immediately questioned when Sexy Rexy is the one person who beats you to the starting job.

Moreover, and more importantly, despite having a good touchdown-interception differential, after spraining his ankle last season, Orton ended his Chicago record of completing 205 passes sans interceptions to throwing eight in four games.

Those are striking numbers, especially when you’re willing to trade your franchise quarterback (and a fifth round draft pick) for them. Finally, even despite Cutler’s melodramatic infantile tendencies, he has a level for respect for the game and winning. I doubt we’d ever hear him utter, “I didn't want to take the sack. Sacks aren't going to get you anywhere in that situation.” Especially, when the result was an interception that eventually lead to a touchdown. This was an Orton quote after a Bronco preseason loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

But why is this important unless you’re a Broncos or Bears fan?

The answer is that the Cutler-Orton trade will likely allow for a Marshall trade that will leave Denver without a single Pro Bowl player. While this again initially seems to only concern the Broncos and the trading team, - like the Bears benefiting with Cutler heading there, and now possibly, one of the two New York teams for Marshall - it becomes another example of poor and bold trade decisions that are reminiscent of Terrell Owens’ departure from San Francisco and Keyshawn Johnson’s from the new York Jets.

Could you imagine the Jets pulling another set of similar antics? The Rex Ryan-coached team would potentially be trading a defensive end for an offensive weapon. Maybe we’ll have a flashback to the 1998 AFC Championship game, but with different results. Maybe, now that John Madden is unfortunately retired, this is the year that the overused phrase becomes “offenses will win you football games.”

Owens was a four-time Pro Bowl selection before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for Brandon Whiting, a defensive end who spent most of his time on the 49er sideline due to various injuries, including a back injury, shoulder surgery, and a torn knee ligament.

The Eagles made a Super Bowl appearance the year they acquired Owens, though they lost to the New England Patriots. Did I just evoke some bad memories for Philly fans?

Johnson on the other hand, became the NFL’s highest paid receiver when the Jets traded him to Tampa Bay in 2000. Johnson’s records are on the same level as the likes of former Indianapolis Colts receiver Marvin Harrison, who by the way, surprisingly, remains without an NFL team, and Sterling Sharpe. The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl in 2003. And, when the Cowboys traded for Johnson in 2004, he went on to lead the team in receiving yards and to tie for most touchdown catches.

While both Johnson and Owens performed below their average the year they were traded, both went on to have major effects on their new teams. Both reached the NFL’s “Promise Land,” a goal that seemed to recently elude only one team in the AFC West.

So maybe sunset aren’t really orange because God is a Broncos fan.