The issue facing Broncos inside linebacker Brandon Marshall is common in the NFL, but amplified when you’re the player dealing with it.

Play at much less than 100 percent health … but put out marginal game tape that could impact your future.

Sit out to get the injury managed … and see the team struggle, which also impacts your future.

“I know that and I have to live with that,” Marshall said.

Marshall knows the knee injury (first believed to be tendinitis but now diagnosed as a bone bruise) that has bothered him since after the Week 2 Oakland game will only go away with rest. Weeks, not days, of rest.

But the competitor in him wants to play and help the Broncos. Discretion, though, generally wins over valor, such as last week in Kansas City when Marshall played only 17 snaps. He will not play Sunday against Houston, giving him a minimum three weeks of recovery time.

“I decided to play hurt and the product of that is not the greatest film,” he said. “I’m upset because I have only eight games left to prove a point.”

Marshall’s point to prove: The Broncos should keep him for 2019 or that he is good enough to start for another team.

Marshall first appeared on the Broncos’ injury report before their Week 3 game at Baltimore. The coaches limited his playing time (33 of 72 snaps). But he played 52 snaps against the Jets (Week 5) and 62 apiece against the Rams (Week 6) and Arizona (Week 7).

Marshall regrets playing against Baltimore.

“I didn’t have an MRI until after the Raiders game and if I could do it over again, I would have sat out the Ravens game,” he said. “It’s tough but I can’t really look back and say I wish I could have done something. That won’t help me.”

Marshall’s disappointment has been evident. He worked the entire offseason to get down to 230-235 pounds, a weight he felt would better allow him to play downfield in coverage. But just as the season was getting started, he was hobbled.

“Any human being that is a competitor in the game of football has to deal with physical setbacks,” linebackers coach Reggie Herring said. “How well you manage them, how you attack it and how you approach it mentally is really up to the individual. At the end of the day, when it comes to physical problems, sometimes it’s just out of your control and you have to deal with it the best you can. He’s definitely frustrated.”

Sidling up to Marshall’s locker after Wednesday’s practice was an easy call.

A day before, the Broncos traded a high-priced veteran (receiver Demaryius Thomas). The Broncos ended the season’s first half at 3-5 and show few reasons for optimism. Marshall is nicked up. And his 2019 salary cap number is $9 million.

Marshall at full health might have generated some trade interest for the same reason Thomas did — he has a winning pedigree, remains productive (33 tackles this year) and the Broncos have an in-house rookie replacement (Josey Jewell).

The Broncos could save $5 million in 2019 and $7.5 million in 2020 if they move on from Marshall after this season and have dead cap charges of $4 million and $2 million.

“I do know time is ticking and once I do get back, I need to produce so it doesn’t start to look they should get rid of (me),” Marshall said. “My future is up in the air here, honestly. If I can come back and really thrive, that could change. I don’t think anything is set in stone, but I’m not upstairs (in the front office).”

At whatever rate, Marshall should be a part of the Broncos’ 2019 plan. This is a roster that can’t afford to cast aside good players, not with so many holes (cornerback, quarterback and most of the offensive line) that need tending to in the offseason.

If they stay with a 3-4 scheme, Marshall remains a starting-caliber performer. If a new staff moves to a 4-3 front, he would be a good fit at weak-side linebacker.

The future can wait. Marshall’s main task is taking the proper time to get his knee right.

“I think that’s the best course,” he said. “I have to get healthy and when I get back on the field, I have to put out some good film. If I can do that in the last 6-7 games, or however much I play, it would be good for here or anywhere else.”