Marquel Lee (born October 21, 1995) 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 ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Arlington Renegades The Arlington Renegades are a professional American football team based in Arlington, Texas. The team was founded as the Dallas Renegades by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment and is an owned-and-operated member of the new XFL (2020), XFL owne ...

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 ...

at Wake Forest, and 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 fifth round of the

2017 NFL Draft The 2017 NFL Draft was the 82nd annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It was held in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on April 27–29, returning to Philadelphia f ...

Early years

Lee was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, in 1995. His family moved to

Waldorf, Maryland Waldorf is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Charles County, Maryland, United States. Located south-southeast of Washington, D.C., Waldorf is part of the Southern Maryland region. It is an urban area, with a populat ...

and he attended Westlake High School.

Professional career

Pre-draft

On December 14, 2016, it was announced that Lee had accepted his invitation to play in the

2017 East–West Shrine Game The 2017 East–West Shrine Game was the 92nd staging of the all–star college football exhibition to benefit Shriners Hospital for Children. The game was held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, on January 21, 2017, with a 3:00 ...

. During practice for the

East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

, Lee sustained a foot injury and was unable to participate. He was one of 29 collegiate linebackers to attend the

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footb ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Mari ...

, but only performed the

bench press The bench press, or chest press, is a weight training exercise in which the trainee presses a weight upwards while lying on a weight training bench. Although the bench press is a full-body exercise, the muscles primarily used are the pectorali ...

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

, and

broad jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

due to his pre-existing foot injury. Lee performed well, finishing second among all

linebackers Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

in the bench press, 12th in the broad jump, and 16th in the vertical. On March 13, 2017, Lee attended Wake Forest's

pro day The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

and ran all of the combine drills he was unable to at the combine. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Lee was projected to be a fifth round pick by

NFL draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

experts and scouts. He was ranked the 13th best

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

Oakland Raiders

The

selected Lee in the fifth round (168th overall) of the

. He was the 22nd linebacker selected in 2017. He was the only Wake Forest player drafted since 2015. On May 26, 2017, the Raiders signed Lee to a four-year, $2.65 million contract that includes a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $253,963. Throughout

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...

, Lee competed for the starting middle linebacker role against

Ben Heeney Ben Heeney (born May 13, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Kansas Jayhawks football, Kansas. Early years Heeney attended Hutchinson High School (Kansas), Hutchinson High School in Hutchinson, Kansas. ...

Cory James Cory Miguel James (born May 22, 1993) is an American football linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Colorado State, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of ...

, and

Tyrell Adams Tyrell Adams (born April 11, 1992) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at West Georgia. He has also played for the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, Ho ...

. Head coach

Jack Del Rio Jack Louis Del Rio Jr. (born April 4, 1963) is an American football coach who is the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a linebacker at the University of South ...

named him the starting middle linebacker to start the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut and his first career start in the Raiders' season-opener at the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

and recorded two solo tackles during their 26–16 victory. On October 8, 2017, Lee recorded a season-high six combined tackles in a 30–17 loss to the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

. He unfortunately sustained a ankle injury during the game and was carted off the field to be examined in the locker room. He missed the next three games and lost his starting role to newly acquired veteran

NaVorro Bowman NaVorro Roderick Bowman (born May 28, 1988) is a former American football linebacker who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State, and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the thir ...

who the Raiders signed on October 16, 2017. He finished his rookie season with 25 combined tackles (18 solo) in 13 games and six starts. Head coach Jack Del Rio was fired after the Raiders finished 6-10. On September 24, 2019, Lee was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in th ...

. He was designated for return from injured reserve on November 11, 2019, and began practicing with the team again. He was activated on December 2, 2019. He was placed back on injured reserve on December 21, 2019. Lee was placed on the active/

physically unable to perform list Physically unable to perform (PUP) is a roster designation used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who suffered injuries during football-related activities prior to the start of training camp. Players on the PUP list may participate ...

at the start of training camp on July 28, 2020. He was waived with a failed physical designation on August 3, 2020.

Buffalo Bills (first stint)

Lee signed a one-year contract 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. ...

on March 31, 2021. He was released on August 31, 2021.

Las Vegas Raiders

On September 1, 2021, Lee 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, ...

of the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divis ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on September 18, 2021. He was released on September 22, 2021 and re-signed to the practice squad. He was promoted back to the active roster on November 3.

Buffalo Bills (second stint)

On March 18, 2022, the Bills signed Lee to a one year contract. He was released on August 16, 2022.

Arlington Renegades

On January 22, 2024, Lee signed with the

of the United Football League (UFL).

References

External links

Wake Forest Demon Deacons bioLas Vegas Raiders bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Marquel 1995 births Living people American football linebackers Arlington Renegades players Buffalo Bills players Las Vegas Raiders players Oakland Raiders players People from Waldorf, Maryland Players of American football from Maryland Sportspeople from the Washington metropolitan area Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players