Finally healthy, Stevenson enjoying a breakout start
Finally reaching his chance to join the Buffalo Bills' active roster toward the end of his rookie season in 2021, Marquez Stevenson felt his dream coming to fruition.
A sixth-round pick out of Houston, Stevenson waited much longer than he had hoped for his NFL debut, missing most of the season as he battled turf toe. He relished the opportunity to help Buffalo's push toward a division title, returning 14 punts and seven kicks across five games, and he hoped future years would bring more chances with fewer hurdles.
Instead, Stevenson was derailed by injuries the past two seasons, cut by three NFL teams without playing in another game.
Signing with the UFL'S San Antonio Brahmas in January, Stevenson saw an opportunity to prove what he can do at 100%, saying hasn't “felt this way in a long time.” Just two weeks into the season, Stevenson sits second in the league with 143 receiving yards, displaying the type of dynamic potential that could land him back in the NFL this offseason.
“I wanted to use this league to show I'm back to myself, like I was coming out of college, and I'm ready,” Stevenson said. “The last two years, injuries have been my downfall, so to get this opportunity to help this team win a championship means a lot.”
As San Antonio erased a 16-0 deficit with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, including two in the final minute, for a 20-19 win against the Memphis Showboats last week, Stevenson was key to the effort, hauling in six passes for a team-high 103 yards with a score.
Offensive coordinator AJ Smith characterized Stevenson as “probably one of the fastest receivers in this league,” and quarterback Chase Garbers said Stevenson lives up to his nickname “Speedy,” providing the offense another “spectacular” weapon who can “pretty much outrun anybody.”
Jontre Kirklin, San Antonio's next-leading target with 114 yards and two touchdowns on a Ufl-best 15 receptions, said Stevenson's presence helps open up opposing defenses.
“He's elusive. He's very twitchy,” Kirklin said. “He's a big-play magnet. Whenever he has the ball in his hands, defenses get kind of scared.”
Brahmas coach Wade Phillips, also a Houston product, described Stevenson as a “real talent” who seems poised to break out as a kick and punt returner on top of his production as a receiver.
Painting himself as an explosive playmaker, Stevenson said he entered the UFL with goals of ranking at the top of the league both as a pass-catcher and a returner.
“I feel like this is personal right now,” Stevenson said. “I'm doing this for me. I want to prove it to myself again, too. This whole run is personal. Every down I'm out there, I'm taking everything personal. I'm not taking no plays off.”
Stevenson's injury history dates to his time at Houston, as he lost most of his true freshman year in 2016 to a broken collarbone, then suffered an ACL tear during spring practice in 2017 that kept him sidelined the following fall.
Behind standout seasons in 2018 and 2019 as well as a five-game showing in a 2020 campaign shortened due to COVID-19, Stevenson finished in the top 20 in Cougars program history with 2,269 receiving yards, 147 catches and 22 touchdown receptions.
After turf toe clipped his first NFL season, his second year ended in training camp, when a wrong cut on a route led to an awkward landing and a broken foot that required surgery.
“Just starting to get back in your rhythm, to have another obstacle come your way with an injury, yeah, for sure, it's tough,” Stevenson said. “But I have a good support system around me, and people helping me get through it.”
The Bills released him in December 2022, and he spent a few months with Cleveland before being waived, this time landing in Carolina. But as he was running through preseason conditioning tests, Stevenson sensed something in his back that “just felt a little awkward,” he said.
He consulted with the team trainers, and an MRI revealed an issue in his lower back that sidelined him for future workouts. The Panthers released him before the start of the season.
Stevenson said his agent fielded calls from other NFL teams trying to learn what had gone wrong or expressing interest in bringing him to camp. He hopes a strong year in San Antonio helps ensure the phone rings again when he's ready to capitalize on the opportunity in a few months.
“I feel like, for sure, this is the type of pathway to get me back there,” Stevenson said. “I just know when I prove I'm healthy and prove that I'm back explosive like I was coming out of college, everything will fall back into place.”