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Marsh was acquired by the Patriots from the
Seattle Seahawks last September in exchange for fifth- and
seventh-round draft picks. Known as a pass-rushing end, Marsh
said he was miscast by the Patriots as a coverage linebacker. He
became so disenchanted with his role that he requested a meeting
with coach Bill Belichick that he hoped would result in being
waived by the team.
"They asked me to do a bunch of stuff that I had never done:
covering running backs and receivers and basically almost never
rushing the passer, which is what I did in playing defensive
line," Marsh told the San Francisco Chronicle. "They don't have
fun there. There's nothing fun about it. There's nothing happy
about it. I didn't enjoy any of my time there, you know what I'm
saying? It made me for the first time in my life think about not
playing football because I hated it that much."
Marsh was ultimately waived on Nov. 19, two days after playing
only two snaps in a win over the Oakland Raiders in Mexico City.
His Patriots' tenure ended with 19 tackles and one sack in nine
games.
"I confronted (Belichick) about all the things that were going
on," Marsh said. "I won't get into detail, but it was B.S.
things they were doing. I just wasn't a fan. And so I,
basically, without asking to get cut, I kind of asked to get
cut. ... I had confidence that I would have an opportunity
elsewhere and I would take advantage of it."
That opportunity came in San Francisco, with the 49ers claiming
Marsh off waivers. The 25-year-old recorded a pair of sacks
while forcing two fumbles in six games over the remainder of the
season. The 49ers rewarded him in the offseason with a two-year,
$7.7 million contract extension.
San Francisco also did not select a pass rusher in the 2018 NFL
Draft, with coach Kyle Shanahan declaring that the starting job
was Marsh's to lose. General manager John Lynch has also stated
that he's a big fan of Marsh's game.
"I still kind of get a little bit starstruck by John Lynch,"
Marsh said. "I used to play video games using him, and he was my
favorite safety. So kind of having him show me love and tell me
he wanted me here was incredible for me. He's one of the
greatest safeties to play the game, and he's seen a lot of great
defensive linemen."
--Field Level Media
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