In the 2014 NFL Draft, the Seattle Seahawks chose UCLA edge rusher Cassius Marsh in the fourth round. Seattle was just months removed from winning its first Super Bowl, and the hope was that Marsh would be the next great member of the Legion of Boom.
He wouldn't quite do that. He only spent three seasons in the Pacific Northwest, and the most sacks he had in a season were three. He only started one game. But the Magic: The Gathering fan and Seahawks fan-favorite decided to finally retire on Thursday, and did so by signing a one-day deal with the team that drafted him.
Marsh hasn't played since 2021, and he bounced around the NFL quite a bit during his eight-year career. His most productive seasons came with Seattle's NFC West rival, the San Francisco 49ers. That included a career-high 5,5 sacks in 2018, and 14 quarterback hits, nearly three times more than he had in any other season.
Seattle Seahawks fan favorite Cassius Marsh retires 10 years of last playing a game for the team
In total, Marsh played for eight teams and finished with 15 sacks. Was he a draft bust? Not really. His fourth-round selection was more in hope that he could be very good instead of a certainty. More importantly, he endeared himself to different fanbases, but none more than the ones in Seattle.
In signing his one-day contract, Marsh said, "This is where it all started for me, where the dream began, and I see as my best years in the league. Just my teammates, and the organization was just so good for me. So, I felt like this was the spot to come back to."
Cassius Marsh wasn't just a football player in his career; he was a fan of the sport and seemed more like one of the regular people who don't play in the NFL for a living. He was capable of chasing down quarterbacks, but he'd rather interact with normal folks because that is exactly what he was.
Was his love of his favorite card game one of his defining characteristics, instead of making an unbelievable play that resulted in a sack? Sure, but he wasn't trending toward being a Pro Football Hall of Fame. What he was trending toward was being a person who went to work, got paid to do his job, did so to the best of his ability, and then enjoyed life outside of his day job. That's what we all hope to do.
Plus, it speaks volumes that Marsh decided to retire as a member of the Seattle Seahawks rather than the 49ers. Sure, he started his career with general manager John Schneider's team, but his best seasons were further south. Instead, he liked the organization that treats its employees well.
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