Cassius Lee Marsh Sr. (born July 7, 1992) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Big Ten Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF ...

and was selected by the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) in the fourth round of the

2014 NFL draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He also played for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

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) NFC West, West division. The ...

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Early life

Marsh attended

Oaks Christian School Oaks Christian School (OCS) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, non-denominational Christian school serving grades 4–12. Oaks Christian School is located on in Westlake Village, Los Angeles County, California. The school was established ...

Westlake Village, California Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...

. He was a member of ''

PrepStar ''PrepStar College Recruiting'', known also as ''PrepStar'', is an online magazine at www.prepstar.com, which was established in 1982. It provides information on the top football and basketball prospects in the United States. The online magazi ...

'' Dream Team and '' Tacoma News-Tribune'' Western 100. He was ranked as 22nd

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

prospect nationally by Tom Lemming/

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is currently owned by PlayOn. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including boys, girls, and co-ed sports. ...

during high school. He was selected to the GoldenStatePreps.com All-State first-team and All-SoCal first-team. He was named CIF-SS All-Northwest Division co-Defensive Player of the Year in his junior season. He played in the U.S. Army All-America Game after high school. He recorded 83

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, 23 sacks, in his senior season at high school. Rivals rated Marsh as a four-star prospect being the No. 4 defensive tackle, No. 6 prospect in the state of California, and the No. 33 prospect overall regardless of position.

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

recruiting rated Marsh as a three-star prospect being the No. 33 defensive tackle, and the No. 33 prospect in the state of California. 247 rated Cassius as a four-star prospect being the No. 11 defensive tackle, and the No. 142 overall prospect (No. 114 composite ranking) regardless of position. Scout.com rated Cassius as a four-star prospect as well. Many major college programs offered scholarships and, after committing to

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

, Marsh changed his mind and committed to UCLA so he would be closer to home.

College career

In December 2010, he was selected to the Rivals.com

Pac-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...

All-Freshman team in his freshman season. He was winner of UCLA's John Boncheff Jr. Memorial Award for Rookie of the Year in his freshman season.

Professional career

Seattle Seahawks (first stint)

Marsh was selected by the

in the fourth round, 108th overall, in the

. He was signed to a four-year contract on May 19, 2014. Marsh recorded the first sack and first forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

of his NFL career against the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

in the season opener on September 11, 2016.

New England Patriots

On September 2, 2017, the Seahawks traded Marsh to the

in exchange for the Patriots' fifth- and seventh-round selections in 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 southwest of Dallas; it was ...

. Week 1 on September 7 against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

his blown coverage resulted in a 78-yard

Kareem Hunt Kareem AJ Hunt (born August 6, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Toledo Rockets and was selected by the Chiefs in the thi ...

touchdown

reception Reception is a noun form of ''receiving'', or ''to receive'' something, such as art, experience, information, people, products, or vehicles. It may refer to: Astrology * Reception (astrology), when a planet is located in a sign ruled by another p ...

. On October 22, he blocked a

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

in a game versus the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

. On November 21 the Patriots waived Marsh. Marsh has since expressed criticism of

Bill Belichick William Stephen Belichick ( ; born April 16, 1952) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Widely regarded as one of the greatest head coaches of all time, he holds numerous coaching records, inc ...

's coaching methods. A report in 2018 said that Marsh had a locker room “tirade” and temper tantrum over playing time at halftime when the Patriots were leading 17–0 in Mexico City versus the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. He was released two days later.

San Francisco 49ers

Marsh was claimed off waivers by the

a day after being released by the Patriots. On February 7, 2018, Marsh signed a two-year contract extension with the 49ers. In 2018, Marsh played in 16 games with three starts, recording a career-high 38 combined tackles and 5.5 sacks. On March 15, 2019, Marsh was released by the 49ers.

Seattle Seahawks (second stint)

On April 4, 2019, Marsh signed with the Seahawks. He was released on August 31, 2019.

Arizona Cardinals

On September 1, 2019, Marsh signed with the

Jacksonville Jaguars

Marsh signed with the

on April 6, 2020. He was released on October 15, 2020.

Indianapolis Colts

On October 24, 2020, Marsh was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, 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. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of the

. He was elevated to the active roster on November 12, November 21, and November 28 for the team's weeks 10, 11, and 12 games against 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

, and Titans, and reverted to the practice squad after each game.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 9, 2020, Marsh was signed by the

off the Colts' practice squad. He was placed on the reserve/

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

list by the team on January 2, 2021, and activated five days later. On March 24, 2021, Marsh was re-signed by the Steelers to a one-year contract. He was released on August 31, 2021.

Chicago Bears

On November 3, 2021, Marsh was signed to the

practice squad. On November 19, 2021, Marsh was signed to the active roster. He 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 ...

on December 10.

Personal life

Dana Fischer and Cassius Marsh at Grand Prix Phoenix

Marsh is the son of Curtis Marsh Sr. and the half-brother of Curtis Marsh Jr. Marsh's father, a wide receiver who played college football at

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, was drafted in the seventh round of the

1995 NFL draft The 1995 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 22–23, 1995 at the Paramount ...

by the

. Curtis Sr. played two seasons for the Jaguars and one for the

before going to the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

, where he was an All-Star in 2000. Curtis Jr. played college football at Utah State; he was a running back for the 2007 and 2008 seasons before moving to defensive back for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Curtis Jr. was selected in the third round of the

2011 NFL draft The 2011 NFL draft was the 76th installment of the annual National Football League draft, NFL draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Rad ...

by the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. Marsh is an avid '' Magic: The Gathering'' player and owns decks whose total value was more than $20,000. He also co-founded and co-owns the local game store Cash Cards Unlimited with his business partner Nick Nugwynne where he sells trading card game and hobby products. Marsh was also one of the first investors in popular video gifting app Cameo.

References

External links

UCLA Bruins bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Cassius 1992 births Living people American football defensive ends Arizona Cardinals players American Magic: The Gathering players Chicago Bears players Indianapolis Colts players Jacksonville Jaguars players New England Patriots players People from Mission Hills, Santa Barbara County, California Pittsburgh Steelers players San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Santa Barbara County, California UCLA Bruins football players Oaks Christian School alumni