King could be royal pain to Raiders
Marquette King will need to find an alternative to his bucking Bronco punt celebration. Because the former Raiders punter is switching sides.
Four days after he was surprisingly released by Oakland, King arrived in Denver for a visit with his once-AFC West rivals Thursday and quickly signed a threeyear contract that, according to an NFL source, is worth up to $7 million with incentives and includes a base salary of about $2 million.
“The last few days were definitely different. It felt like — you know how you play those UFC games and you get punched and you’re in a daze until you get knocked out? That’s what it kind of felt like,” King said via a conference call. “It all happened so fast. I just felt like Denver was the best team to go to. The people that I was familiar with that are here with the organization — you get a homey feeling when you get here. I’m just looking forward to competing and winning games. That’s all.”
A sixth-year pro who signed with the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2012, King is the only player in NFL history to record at least a 40-yard or better net punting average in each of his first five seasons. He won Oakland’s punting job in 2013 and, the following season, led the NFL in punts (109) and punting yards (4,930), both of which are Raiders records. In 2016, King was named a secondteam all-pro after recording the second-highest punting average (48.6) in the NFL and tying for the fifth-most punts (34) placed inside the 20-yard line. Last season
he finished third in the league with a 42.7-yard average.
King signed a five-year, $16.5 million contract extension with the Raiders in February 2016, but Jon Gruden’s arrival as head coach this year soon spelled the end of King’s tenure. It was reported that King’s personality and celebrations didn’t sit well with Gruden. But King said he never got an explanation for his release. In fact, he never even talked to Gruden.
“I just saw him on car commercials and stuff,” King said. “But I’ll definitely get to see him two times a year.”
His exit from Oakland allowed him to handpick his second NFL stop, and Denver — a place he calls “a punter’s paradise” — was atop the list for multiple reasons, including fit and familiarity, and certainly the altitude.
“I think there is somewhat of a revenge factor in there, too,” he said. “It’s a mixture of some of every- thing.
“The cool thing about the Broncos is the people that work at the Broncos encourage you to be yourself. That is real cool. Players play a lot better when they can let their hair down and be themselves. It’s cool.”
The move saved the Raiders about $2.9 million in salary cap space. The Broncos have been looking to upgrade their special teams across the board. Earlier in free agency, the team signed kicker Taylor Bertolet and long snapper Christian Kuntz for competition. It also let Cody Latimer and Corey Nelson, two of its top special-teamers a season ago, sign elsewhere.
King’s arrival likely means Riley Dixon, a former seventh-round draft pick with two years remaining on his rookie deal, could be made available for trade or released outright. But, in the meantime, King has his work cut out for him.
“Now it’s time to find a new celebration, because that was one when I was trying to troll y’all,” he said. “Now I’ve got to find something else. It’s definitely going to be a nice little dance. We’ll figure something out.”