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

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

. 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 ...

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

Early life

Ateman attended Wylie East High School in Wylie, Texas. 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. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. He committed to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

to play

College career

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

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

, 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: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) 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 ...

. 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 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 ...

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 southwest of Dallas; it was ...

. He was waived on September 1, 2018, and 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 ...

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) NFC West, West division. The ...

, 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 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–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. 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