Marcell Ligon Ateman (born September 16, 1994) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

wide receiver for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

Early years

Ateman attended

Wylie East High School Wylie East High School (commonly Wylie East or WEHS) is a public high school located in Wylie, Texas ( USA). It is classified as a 6A school by the UIL and is part of the Wylie Independent School District located in south central Collin County ...

Wylie, Texas Wylie is a city and northeastern suburb of Dallas, that was once solely located in Collin County, Texas, Collin County, but now extends into neighboring Dallas County, Texas, Dallas and Rockwall County, Texas, Rockwall counties in the U.S. state o ...

. As a senior, he had 84 receptions for 1,584 yards and 27

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

. He committed to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

to play

College career

Ateman played at Oklahoma State from 2013 to 2017. As a

true freshman Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

, he played in all 13 games, recording 22 receptions for 276 yards. As a sophomore, he had 20 receptions for 268 yards. As a junior, he had 45 receptions for 766 yards and five touchdowns. Ateman missed the 2016 season due to a foot injury and took a medical

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after b ...

. He returned from the injury and played in all 13 games in 2017, recording 59 receptions for 1,156 yards and eight touchdowns.

Professional career

Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders

Ateman was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

in the seventh round (228th overall) of the

2018 NFL Draft The 2018 NFL Draft was the 83rd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2018 NFL season. The draft was held on April 26–28 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; it was the first draft ...

. He was waived on September 1, 2018, and was signed to the

practice squad In sports, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. Frequently used in gridiron football, they serve as extra players during the team's practices, ...

the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on October 23, 2018. He made his NFL debut on November 18, 2018, in a Week 11 road game against the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

, where he had 4 receptions for 50 yards and played a pivotal factor in the Raiders' game-winning drive, as they went on to win 23–21. On August 31, 2019, Ateman was waived by the Raiders and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 5, 2019. He was waived on October 8, but re-signed two days later. On September 5, 2020, Ateman was waived by the Raiders and signed to the practice squad the next day. He was placed on the practice squad/injured list on September 19, and activated back to the practice squad on October 21. He was released on December 10, 2020, and re-signed to the practice squad five days later. On February 3, 2021, Ateman signed a reserve/futures contract with the Raiders. On August 24, 2021, Ateman was waived by the Raiders. He was re-signed to the practice squad on November 3. He was released on November 18.

Arizona Cardinals

On August 4, 2022, Ateman signed with the Cardinals. On August 22, 2022, he was released.

St. Louis Battlehawks (first stint)

Atemwan was selected by the St. Louis Battlehawks of the

XFL XFL may refer to: Sports * XFL (2001), a defunct American football league that played its only season in 2001 * XFL (2020), a professional American football league Vehicles * Bell XFL Airabonita, a 1940 U.S. Navy experimental interceptor aircra ...

with the second pick in the 2023 XFL Skill Players Draft. He was placed on the reserve list by the team on March 8, 2023, and activated on March 27. He was released from his contract on June 1, 2023.

Buffalo Bills

On June 1, 2023, Ateman signed with the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He was waived on August 29, 2023, and re-signed to the practice squad. He was released on October 3, 2023.

St. Louis Battlehawks (second stint)

On January 19, 2024, Ateman re-signed with the Battlehawks.

References

External links

Oklahoma State Cowboys bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ateman, Marcell 1994 births Living people Players of American football from Dallas American football wide receivers Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Oakland Raiders players Las Vegas Raiders players Arizona Cardinals players St. Louis Battlehawks players Buffalo Bills players