Lammey: Outgoing punter Marquette King did not fit with the Broncos way
Oct 6, 2018, 9:16 AM | Updated: Oct 7, 2018, 7:47 pm
The Denver Broncos appear to be poised to release offseason acquisition Marquette King just a few months into his tenure with the team.
First reported by the Denver Post’s Ryan O’Halloran, King will be placed on injured reserve until he’s healthy enough to be released while the Broncos promote rookie Colby Wadman.
The move, “Pritchard and Cecil” co-host Cecil Lammey said on Saturday, signifies the Broncos moving on from a player who did not fit the team’s mentality.
“There’s a ‘Broncos way’ that still resonates through that building with 99 percent of the players that understand that,” Lammey said. “Marquette did not fit the ‘Broncos way’”
Lammey said not only should the Broncos be praised for bringing in the highly-touted punter in the offseason but for having the courage to release him now when “it didn’t work out.”
“He was an embarrassment and distraction for this team,” Lammey said. “Then the on-the-field stuff was the icing on the cake. He wasn’t getting the job done.”
Aside from a few incidents away from the field, King had slumped in the first quarter of the Broncos season on the field.
Through four games, King ranks 20th in the NFL in terms of net average yards per punt (39.7), 11th in punts inside the 20 (7), and 17th in punt return yards against (67).
“Schlereth and Evans” co-host Mark Schlereth said on Saturday that from his arrival in Denver, King did not look comfortable in his “new environment, and his on-field performance show it.”
“Whether it was injury or unhappiness, it doesn’t make a difference. This is not a try-hard league, it’s a do-good league, and King simply wasn’t good,” Schlereth said.
“Stokley and Zach” co-host Brandon Stokley said he had high expectations for King coming in and it “never worked out that way for whatever reason.”
“It didn’t seem like he liked being here. It didn’t seem like a good fit. He didn’t perform at the high level that we all had hoped,” Stokley said. “I think it’s best to move on from that situation and start with somebody new because the way the Broncos are structured, a big part of their success relies on their field position and having a good punter is a big part of that.”
On Monday, Broncos head coach Vance Joseph called out King, saying he has to “perform better.”
“We’re at home and it’s his job to flip the field. That isn’t happening,” Joseph said. “He’s got to play better.”
Later Saturday morning, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported King will travel to Northern California to meet with doctors on what could have been an aggravation of a sports hernia, which Schefter reports he’s been dealing with since organized team activities.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.
