Giants' Brandon Marshall eyeing Hall of Fame resume before he retires

Marshall has put up tremendous individual numbers, but has never made the playoffs in his career

Brandon Marshall is 33 years old and, by now, fully understands that the end of his NFL career is nearing. So, with the end in sight, Marshall is setting a goal before he calls it quits.

In May, when Marshall signed with the Giants, he said that he was going to retire after his two-year deal, during which he planned on winning a Super Bowl, expired. On Friday, Marshall mentioned a different goal and a different timeline.

Marshall believes he's "two great years away" from being a Hall of Famer.

"I'm all-in on football. I've rebuilt my body. I think I'm two great years away from -- and I'll say it, I want to be a Hall of Famer, and I think I got two great years to go to be mentioned with some of the greats," Marshall said, per ESPN. "I'm not just playing this game just to be a guy; I want to be remembered for the product that I put out on the field.

"So these last few years have been tough, last year with the Jets, this year with the Giants. But I'm hopeful that the next couple years for me will be some amazing years and some of my best work."

At his peak, Marshall was one of the game's best receivers. From 2007-15 (with the Broncos, Dolphins, Bears, and Jets), he totaled 10,964 receiving yards and 77 touchdowns, which means he averaged 1,218 yards and 8.6 touchdowns per season. Even when factoring in his rookie season and the past two disappointing years, Marshall ranks third in catches (959), second in receiving yards (12,215), and fourth in touchdown catches (82) since entering the NFL in 2006. All time, he ranks 16th in receptions, 23rd in receiving yards, and tied for 23rd in receiving touchdowns. If he can piece together two more good seasons like he said, he'll climb up the leaderboard and improve his odds. 

Really, the biggest knock against Marshall is that he's never played on a playoff team in his 12-year career. He's gotten heartbreakingly close, though. 

I wrote this in July:

Two years ago, the Jets finished with 10 wins but missed the playoffs. In 2013, the Bears lost a Week 17 win-and-you're-in game against the Packers. In 2012, the Bears won 10 games but missed the playoffs. In 2009, the Broncos lost to the Chiefs in Week 17 to blow their chance at a playoff spot. In 2008, the Broncos lost a Week 17 win-and-you're-in game against the Chargers. In Week 17 of his rookie year, the Broncos lost to the 49ers when a win would've been enough to journey to the playoffs. That's rough.

Still, the lack of playoff success shouldn't be held against Marshall. It shouldn't be the reason why voters don't consider him. Sure, he's been a member of some awful teams, but he's almost always been one of the league's best receivers even though he's never played with a great quarterback.

It's not yet known where Marshall will be spending the remainder of his career, even though he's under contract with the Giants through the 2018 season. Marshall is owed a little more than $6 million in 2018, but the Giants can cut him and take on just $1 million in dead cap, according to Spotrac. Considering how poorly his 2017 season went -- he caught 18 passes for 154 yards before suffering a season-ending injury in October -- and the state of the Giants (bad), it seems unlikely the Giants will want Marshall for $6 million. 

So, he might have to take a pay cut if he wants to stick around. Or maybe he'll move onto his sixth team. By now, Marshall understands how it works. 

"You know how it is, you get to the plus side of 30, a production slip, you get injured, the business side of it, history says that you're going to get cut or they are going to ask you to take a pay cut," he said. "That's the business side of it, that's history. So I'm prepared for that. I've had a lot of change in my life, but one of the reasons why I came to this organization was for stability and also not to be an environment that we created this year, right? So I was looking for more stability, but I'm built for this and I'll learn from it."

He added that "it's not about the money" for him anymore.

"Well, one, it's not about the money for me," Marshall said. "I've done well, my wife and I, we've done a great job. So it's not about the money. I'm good for life, my kids are good for life. But I'm back to my beast, bullish, Brandon Marshall ways. The things that you guys have seen get me in trouble Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, I'm back to that type of mentality. I want it all. It's about respect, it's about finishing strong, and although it's not about the money, but I'm approaching it as whatever is for me, I want it all. If that's $100,000, $500,000, $1 million, I want it all. Whatever I'm worth, I want it all."