Today, Brandon Marshall is one of the best linebackers in the NFL playing on one of the best defenses in NFL history.

Four years ago, he was cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars three times. Yes, three times! By, yes, the Jacksonville Jaguars!

“I’ve been looking forward to this game for a long time. It’s my first time really being able to get back and play — against the team, and in Jacksonville,” Marshall said, via DenverBroncos.com. “So I’m excited, man. This game means a lot to me. I want to win so bad.”

There are a lot of rags to riches stories in the NFL, but not many as defined as Marshall’s.

The idea that a player could be cut three times from one of the worst defenses in the NFL and then go on to play a pivotal starting role on one of the greatest defenses the game of football has ever seen is, well, hard to believe.

Part of it, of course, is that Marshall has continued to improve. But part of it is that the Jaguars simply didn’t recognize what they had in Marshall, and that sticks with him to this day.

“It never goes away, man,” Marshall said. “I’ve always thought about it — what the coach said to me, what the GM said to me, and how I feel I was treated over there, the opportunities that I didn’t have. This is something that I’ve been looking forward to. I can’t wait. I’m going to have so much energy, so much juice. I’m excited.”

Even his mom, Barbara, is excited to see her boy show Jacksonville what they missed out on.

According to Marshall, the Jaguars didn’t just overlook him; they completely misevaluated him, to the point that they thought he couldn’t cut it in the NFL.

“My old [position] coach told me that he didn’t know if I was going to make it in this league,” Marshall said. “And then it was weird — the old GM [Gene Smith] told my agent that he thought I had a bad attitude. There was a while when the coaches wouldn’t even talk to me.”

This Sunday, he’ll have every opportunity to show the Jaguars what they missed out on, and you can be sure that he’ll take advantage of it.