The Washington Redskins have decided to release Nico Marley, a favorite of fans and the grandson of reggae icon Bob Marley. Nico Marley, an undrafted free agent linebacker, showed considerable aggression on the field, but ultimately, his size – 5’8”, 200 lbs, – made him a longshot at the time of his signing. Marley is eligible to be a member of the Redskins practice squad if the team believes he can be developed at that level, however, nothing has been guaranteed.
Nico Marley played as a linebacker at Tulane University and was invited to attend a mini-camp of the Washington Redskins in May 2017. He was not an NFL 2017 draft pick because of his small size, but he demonstrated total commitment to every hit he made and was praised for making up for his size with his tenacious and ferocious approach to fending off receivers. He ended his 2017 season at Tulane with 86 combined tackles, three sacks, and three forced fumbles.

While with the Redskins, Marley became close friends with linebackers Mason Foster and Zach Brown, who both took the rookie player under their wings during the preseason.

Following his release, Nico posted a heartfelt farewell to the city and the fans that had supported him on Instagram and responded via Twitter by saying, “So life go.”.

Marley is the son of Rohan Marley, a former college football player. He was born in Haiti in 1995 and lived in Jamaica for two years before moving to Miami, Florida. He attended Cypress Bay High School and was named first-team all-state with 67 tackles during his senior year. In 2012, he was MVP at Al Golden Summer Camp and rated a two-star college recruit by ESPN.