Marquette King was one of the best punters in the NFL. Then, he was suddenly cut because of personality issues.
It’s easy to forget just how good King was during his NFL career after he joined the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2012. The next year, he led the league in punting average. In 2016, he earned second-team All-Pro honors.
He also was a breath of fresh air and then he was gone. The Broncos signed King to a three-year contract a week after his release from the Raiders, but his Denver career never got off the ground. King was released in 2018 and his NFL career was finished.
In a new interview with Audacy’s Silver and Black Today, King is opening up about his sudden release from the Raiders.
“I never met the guy before. I never talked to him. I tried to reach out to Rich Bisaccia, he left me on read… Any time I get a new coach, I try to reach out to him, get to know him, but I never got a chance to meet any of them. I never got a chance to talk to any of them. It was just the weirdest thing ever. It actually kind of hurt. It felt like a loss.”
King also spoke about what he believes led to his being cut from the team.
“Raiders felt like home. That was home. Staying in the bay was home. Wearing those colors, I couldn’t see myself wearing any other colors. I honestly should’ve took a year off. I was just so scarred from that, man. Feeling like somebody just has a motive behind just letting you go.
I honestly don’t understand. I think it was hate. That’s what I feel like. That’s the only way you can be like that towards somebody if you never met them. I don’t know, some people just got hate in their heart.”
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He also claimed owner Mark Davis saw him with two women and gave him props. King responded by giving him a ‘soft nuggie.’
Despite never having met Gruden, King was released and has never truly recovered from that decision. King played briefly for the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2020 and was leading the league in punting before the season was suspended due to the onset of COVID-19.
In 2023, he was selected by the XFL’s Renegades and finished second in the league in punting average.
