Sam Martin Reportedly Agrees to Contract After Bills Release Matt Araiza
September 1, 2022
The Buffalo Bills have agreed to a contract with free-agent punter Sam Martin on Wednesday, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
It's a one-year deal for Martin, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. The former Appalachian State punter had arrived in Buffalo on a visit earlier Wednesday, per ESPN's Field Yates.
That news arrived four days after the Bills released rookie punter Matt Araiza, who is accused in a civil lawsuit of gang-raping a 17-year-old girl last year along with two former San Diego State teammates at an off-campus party.
Martin, 32, served as the Detroit Lions' punter from 2013 to 2019 before moving on to the Broncos (2020-2021). He was released Monday, with Rapoport providing more details.
Ian Rapoport @RapSheet<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Broncos?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Broncos</a> P Sam Martin is being released today by Denver after indicating he would refuse any pay reduction. He was a top 5 punter statistically in 2021 and set Broncos all-time record for net punting last season. Will have interest.
Martin's 44.1-yard net average per punt ranked fifth in the NFL last season. He also tied for fifth with 28 punts inside the 20-yard line.
The Bills will open the season Sept. 8 at the defending Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams.
