Football

A surprise! Raiders release punter Marquette King and fans voice their frustration

By Anthony Galaviz

March 30, 2018 6:01 PM

The Oakland Raiders released punter Marquette King on Friday, March 30, 2018. Tony Gonzales Oakland Raiders

In a bit of a surprising news, the Oakland Raiders released punter Marquette King on Friday.

That led to an onslaught of frustration by Raiders fans who were blindsided by the move, including Derek Carr’s brother, Darren.

Wow.
— Darren Carr (@DCarr75) March 30, 2018

Here are some reactions by Raiders fans.

dont understanding releasing king at all. One of the better punters in the game. smh
— Justin Reis (@Sir_Papi_) March 30, 2018

Apparently gruden wasn’t a fan of him when he would call the raiders game. Yes he has on the field antics but he gets the job done. Smh this one hurts.
— Justin Reis (@Sir_Papi_) March 30, 2018

THIS IS A JOKE RIGHT!!!!! Not even funny!!!!
— Raiderettemvp (@KtyRN4L) March 30, 2018

No more unsportsmanlike conduct by the punter! #TeamFirst
— Michael Moskaitis (@Tucsonmike520) March 30, 2018

Perhaps, there was a reasoning why the Raiders decided to let King go.

A league source tells @BairNBCS that Marquette Kings' personality may have clashed with new @Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and special teams coach Rich Bisaccia. https://t.co/cUxgHENL2K https://t.co/K2xn7eMoTe
— NBCSAuthentic (@NBCSAuthentic) March 30, 2018

King posted his farewell on Instagram with a picture of him waving after he was released by the team.

His agent, Wynn Silberman, gave his thoughts to the Las Vegas Review Journal.

Raiders notified P Marquette King of release this morning, agent Wynn Silberman said. "I think there's a little bit of a changing of the guard there, and there might be a repositioning of what's important in terms of where you're going to invest positionally." Story to come.
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) March 30, 2018

King was signed by the Raiders as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He took over the punting duties after Shane Lechler signed a free-agent deal with the Houston Texans.

Over his six-year career, King has played in 80 games, recorded 426 punts for 19,941 yards (46.8 avg.) and pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 156 times with 33 touchbacks.

The Raiders also released tight end Clive Walford and re-signed safety Reggie Nelson.

Anthony Galaviz: 559-441-6042, @agalaviz_TheBee

This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 6:01 PM with the headline "A surprise! Raiders release punter Marquette King and fans voice their frustration."

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