ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall appears unlikely to make his preseason debut in Sunday night's game against the Chicago Bears after again missing practice.
Marshall, who had offseason hip surgery, has missed most of the Broncos' training camp with a hamstring problem. He also has requested a trade after clashing with the organization and new coach Josh McDaniels over his desire for a new contract.
McDaniels refused to specify the reasons for Marshall's absence from practice Thursday. Marshall had returned to practice Tuesday, and McDaniels said then that the wide receiver fully participated in the team's drills. However, Marshall appeared to hold himself out of some pre-practice warmup drills Wednesday -- the only portion of the team's workout open to the media -- and was nowhere to be seen the next day.
During a brief post-practice news conference Thursday, McDaniels refused to say whether Marshall's absence was health-related.
"I'm not going into it," he said. "If they're not ready or able, they're not out here."
McDaniels then was asked if Marshall was on the premises.
"I don't know where he's at right now," McDaniels replied. "He was in the building this morning."
McDaniels appeared to become irritated when, in a follow-up question, he was asked whether he had spoken with Marshall.
"I'm not talking about it," McDaniels said. "He's not out here at practice. When he's ready and able to practice, he will practice. That's it."
The Associated Press sought comment from Marshall's agent, Kennard McGuire, but was told he was out of the country until Monday.
McDaniels held Marshall out of last Saturday's preseason contest against the Seattle Seahawks, saying the wide receiver wasn't prepared to take the field in a game. Marshall missed the Broncos' preseason opener against the San Francisco 49ers with an injury.
Marshall has practiced just a handful of times this offseason. A Pro Bowl wide receiver with 206 receptions the past two seasons, Marshall has sought a new contract and, after the Broncos didn't act on his request in June, a trade out of Denver.
Marshall pulled a hamstring during the first weekend of training camp and didn't return until a week ago. But after telling reporters that he still wasn't up to speed on the new playbook, Marshall found himself largely limited to scout-team duties last week.
Notes: Injured RBs Knowshon Moreno (knee) and Lamont Jordan (leg) again were held out of practice, along with DTs Marcus Thomas (shoulder) and Le Kevin Smith (unspecified), QB Chris Simms (ankle) and CB Tony Carter (leg). ... It has been a whirlwind couple days for OL Russ Hochstein, who took part in his second practice with the Broncos since being acquired Tuesday in a trade with the New England Patriots. "It's been pretty fast," Hochstein said. "I'm getting adjusted to a new city, a new team, new teammates, linemates, all those things. It's been good, but I've got a lot of work ahead of me." ... Special teams coordinator Mike Priefer says the competition between second-year punter Brett Kern and rookie Britton Colquitt is "neck-and-neck" and could come down to a decision following the final preseason game.
