The Oakland Raiders could use an upgrade at the punter position, and former Raider Marquette King is on the open market. Should we see a reunion next season?
After a 4-12 regular season record a year ago, the Oakland Raiders headed into the offseason with plenty of holes to fix on both sides of the ball. Free Agency and the NFL Draft were prime opportunities for the Silver and Black to take a step in the right direction.
While the payoff from their acquisitions remains to be seen, the Raiders reloaded with offensive weapons via free agency, as well as drafted young defensive pieces back in April.
There is room for improvement still, with one hole that has yet, but could be, addressed this offseason. Last season, when Oakland failed to move the chains, it didn’t help when they willingly gave their opponents excellent field position when punting the ball.
The Raiders ranked dead last in average punting yardage (43.2 yards per game), bottom five in net punting average, as well as bottom five in punts within the 20-yard line. When the offense struggled, more often than not the defense came back on the field playing at a disadvantage. Safe to say that rookie Johnny Townsend struggled in his first season.
Now does Oakland hope that Townsend improves in year two, or do they seek an upgrade elsewhere? More notably, an upgrade they are already familiar with? The ever-animated Marquette King is available on the free agent market.
Back during his tenure with the Silver and Black, King was known for his punting prowess as much as his antics off the field. After winning the starting job, Marquette King led the NFL in punting yards as well as total punts back in 2014, with 4,390 yards on 109 punts. He also won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors both in 2015 and 2016.
Fans also remember him well for his on-the-field antics, like riding a horse against division rival Denver Broncos as well as celebrating with a penalty flag after a successful roughing the punter call. The celebrations did not carry over into the Jon Gruden 2.0 era, as he was released and subsequently signed to the aforementioned Broncos in 2018.
His Broncos tenure lasted just months after he was placed on injured reserve and finally reached an injury settlement, leading to his release from Denver. Since then, he has yet to find a new NFL home.
King recently tweeted out his love for Raider Nation, explaining that he didn’t mean to offend coach Gruden in any way. Perhaps if King had managed to play a full season a year ago, and show that he still has the punting expertise we remember from years ago, Oakland would give a reunion a worthwhile look.
But despite Townsend’s struggles, he’s heading into just year two of his NFL career. He deserves one more shot to prove himself before being written off. After a lackluster season a year ago, the Raiders need a step in the right direction and that begins with the product on the field. Oakland can’t afford any antics off the field right now.
King has been rumored to be drawing interest from a couple of NFL teams, so we should wish him all the best in finding a new home. But for now, these two parties have their own goals heading into the 2019 season, and the truth is that those expectations fall on two different paths.