The Raiders cut punter Marquette King last week, and that came as a surprise. King is a solid punter who had a career-best 42.7-yard net average last season, and he still had three years left on his contract.
But new Raiders coach Jon Gruden apparently didn’t like King.
Veteran Raiders reporters Bill Williamson and Vic Tafur both reported that Gruden was the one who made the call to send King packing, and that Gruden had personality issues with King.
What exactly those personality issues were is unclear, but King also drew the ire of former Raiders coach Jack Del Rio, who said in 2016 that he was growing tired of King’s antics after King picked up 15-yard personal foul penalties in back-to-back games.
Cutting King knocks $2.9 million off the Raiders’ salary cap, and whoever the Raiders eventually sign to replace him will surely cost less than that. So there’s a financial reason to get rid of King. But the biggest reason may be about a personality clash.