During his time with the Raiders from 2012 to 2018, Marquette King was one of the top punters in the NFL. He hasn’t been in the league since appearing in four games for the Denver Broncos in 2018 and recently teased his retirement, but it looks like he’s not done with football after all.
The iconic punter announced on Tuesday that he has accepted an invitation to the XFL Draft Player Pool.
Had to make sure I was in the right state of mind before I committed to this. I’m all IN! @XFL2023 😤 pic.twitter.com/44v7hYy2E1
— Marquette King (@MarquetteKing) August 9, 2022
“Had to make sure I was in the right state of mind before I committed to this. I’m all IN!” King said in a post on Twitter.
King became best known for his time with the Raiders, then based in Oakland. During his rookie season in 2013, he led the NFL in yards per punt (48.9). In 2014, he led the NFL in punts (109) and total punt yardage (4,930) while setting Raiders franchise records.
Unfortunately, King was unceremoniously cut from the team shortly after Jon Gruden signed a 10-year contract to become the head coach of the Raiders in 2018. King never knew the official reason for his release and never even met Gruden, but he believes it was simply “hate.”
“I honestly don’t understand,” King said of his release. “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.”
Regardless, King will be returning to football. King last played for the XFL’s St. Louis BattleHawks in 2020. He led the league in punting yards before it folded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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