Marquette King’s unsportsmanlike penalties are a problem for the Raiders, but not his celebrations

Marquette King has quickly become one of the most recognizable punters in the NFL thanks to his awesome celebrations and booming kicks, but after a pair of unsportsmanlike penalties, Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio wants King to settle down.

“He can’t have another penalty,” Del Rio said, via the Raiders’ official team website. “I’ve allowed him to have his freedom. I want him to express himself. I think that’s when he’s at his best. We can’t have routine 15-yard penalties out of our punter. We’ve got two in a row, two weeks in a row, and that’s got to come to a stop.”

King has credited Del Rio in the past for letting him be himself in comparison to Dennis Allen, who was the coach when King arrived in Oakland.

King’s first unsportsmanlike penalty came after he was actually roughed on a punt against the Buffalo Bills. After the referee threw the flag and made the call, King picked up the flag and danced with it, effectively picking up the penalty:

The Raiders won that game convincingly, 38-24, after coming back from a 24-9 deficit. So, Del Rio was more accepting of that penalty.

Then the following week on Thursday night against the Kansas City Chiefs, King was flagged for getting into the face and talking to Tyreek Hill after Hill took King’s punt back 78 yards for a touchdown. He was also mocked by Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce for his Bronco celebration from earlier this season.

That Thursday night, the Raiders looked pretty bad on the road in a loss, and the Raiders were already down in a tough environment at Arrowhead Stadium when King received the penalty.

It’s important to note that Del Rio is fine with King celebrating, as long as it’s not costing his team. By saying something, it appears Del Rio is stopping it before it could even become a trend.

This is somewhat reminiscent of what we saw from Odell Beckham Jr. earlier this season, when Ben McAdoo and Eli Manning didn’t like his relationship with the team’s kicking net.

On a personal note, I’d like to personally apologize for jinxing King. I wrote a feature on him last week that ran on Thursday. It’s the only explanation for any drawback.