Marquette King will need to find an alternative to his bucking Bronco punt celebration. Because the former Raiders punter is switching sides. I hate to say it Broncos Fans but one of our mortal enemies is now officially on our squad. One thing is for sure....he's probably the most athletic punter in the entire league and that simple fact opens up options for us in the way can use him. He has made some dumb plays in the past "showing off" and costing his team valuable field position to gain personal attention in the spotlight of national tv. We needed a legitimate punter here in Denver and King definitely will fill that role for us.
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 three-year contract that, according to an NFL source, is worth up to $7 million with incentives and includes a base salary of around $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 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 player 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 second-team 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.
One thing is for sure....he won't be wearing his usual #7 jersey here. He already looks funny in the blue and orange but, I'm sure a couple of corner kicks keeping the ball out of the hands of speedy return men like Tyreek Hill will make him fit in here quickly.