Mark Davis is to be treated with the utmost respect, without exception.
Marquette King once stood as one of the NFL’s premier punters. However, he was abruptly released from the league due to issues related to his personality.
It’s easy to overlook the exceptional talent that King showcased throughout his NFL career, which began when he joined the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2012. Just a year later, he led the league in punting average, and in 2016, he earned second-team All-Pro honors.
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King also brought a breath of fresh air to the game, but his time in the NFL was abruptly cut short. The Broncos signed him to a three-year contract just a week after his release from the Raiders, but his stint in Denver failed to take off. King was subsequently released in 2018, effectively marking the end of his NFL career.
In a recent interview with Audacy’s Silver and Black Today, King delves into the circumstances surrounding his sudden departure 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.”
Additionally, King discussed what he perceives as the factors that led to his dismissal 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.”
He also asserted that owner Mark Davis witnessed him in the company of two women and gave him a compliment. In response, King playfully administered a ‘soft nuggie’ to Davis.
Although he had never crossed paths with Gruden, King was released and has never fully rebounded from that outcome. King had a brief stint with the St. Louis Battlehawks in 2020, during which he topped the league in punting before the season was halted due to the emergence of COVID-19.
In 2023, he was chosen by the XFL’s Renegades and secured the second spot in the league for punting average.
It’s a reminder to never playfully administer a ‘Nuggie’ to an NFL owner.
