Raiders’ Pass Rusher Irvin Asks To Play Punt Return vs. Broncos’ King

Marquette King says he’s scrapping the bucking Bronco celebration in Denver. «Now it’s time to find a new celebration, because that’s when I was trying to troll y’all.»

— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) April 5, 2018

It’s worth noting that King shouldn’t be blamed for switching sides. After all, it was the Raiders — not King — who shockingly decided to end their relationship. Nobody should fault King for signing with the Broncos, who reside in a “punter’s paradise.” Nobody should fault the Broncos for pursuing a punter who ranked third in net punting average a year ago. If the Raiders didn’t want him to go to Denver to strengthen the Broncos’ special teams, they probably shouldn’t have cut him.

Then again, it certainly seems like King might’ve rubbed some of his former teammates the wrong way. Take it from former Raiders special teams player Cordarrelle Patterson, who got shipped to New England in a trade last month as Jon Gruden continues to reshape Oakland’s roster.

“People didn’t like him, dude”, Patterson told NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” on Wednesday. “He was kind of like a diva, but he wasn’t. He wouldn’t show it that much. He was just crazy, man. He had fun though. I respect him as a person, but he just did things a little different.”

The key word there is fun. From his celebrations to his Instagram to his booming leg, King is fun. King joining the Raiders’ rival is fun. The Raiders getting worked up about King signing with the Broncos is fun. Hopefully, when King punts against the Raiders in the future, it’ll be fun — something that is more likely to come true if Irvin takes the field when King is punting.