Bills’ Brandon Beane on Sam Martin: ‘We wanted a vet’

#Bills’ Brandon Bean on Sam Martin: ‘We wanted a vet’

The Bills have signed former Broncos punter Sam Martin to fill their vacancy at the position.

GM Brandon Beane this week provided some insight as to why the team selected the kicker over their other options.

When asked about the opportunity to sign a player who is top-five in the NFL across multiple statistical categories the GM pointed out how where the roster was at in it’s progression since he took the front office reigns was a factor.

“I mean there was a couple of vets, you guys know the other names,” Beane said while addressing the media. “You know there were some young guys too that had some strong legs but where we were- This is not 2018, you know what I mean where we’re trying to just say hey we’ll take some young guys and mold them and we got time.”

“We wanted a vet, not only as a punter, but a guy who we’ve seen hold plenty of games,” the GM continued, emphasizing the importance of holding for Tyler Bass. “You know what I said last year even with Matt Hawk’s struggles, I did not want to interrupt the flow that T-Bass was in.”

With the preseason concluded and teams around the NFL making roster cuts, position battles can sometimes benefit teams in a position like the one the Bills were in where they needed to find a player who is a good fit.

“The first thing when finding a punter right now was the timing was pretty good that it was the end of camp, we were looking at three or four battles and a couple of them came loose.”

“Sam’s a guy we actually looked at one of the years we played [The Detroit Lions] in the preseason,” Beane added. “So he was the one we targeted when we were still kind of bringing [Corey Bojorquez] up.”

That Martin was scouted and on the Bills radar previously may explain the prompt signing following the punter’s workout with the team.

The Bills biggest free agent acquisition this offseason, OL Von Miller, has been flashing his own GM aspirations in talking up Buffalo to players as well as advocating for signings in-house as well.

And he did just that with Martin.

“We were really aware of him before, we heard Denver had a young guy that was competing with him and really good things about him. Von spoke very highly of him, some of the other guys that know him, Chad Hall, our receiver’s coach knows him through Matt Stafford. A lot of really good reviews on who Sam is.”

As for his on-field abilities, the GM sounded confident in what Martin brings to Buffalo.

“He’s a guy that is really good directional, placing the ball, especially if you’re getting at the minus 40, minus 45 over to the plus side, those areas where you’re trying to get them not only inside the 20 but you know down closer to the 10,” he explained. “Sam’s not the guy that has the hugest leg, that’s not his strength- I would say accuracy, ball placement is probably his best.”

While it’s unclear how much field time the punter will see during gameplay this season on account of the Bills fourth down efficiency and high-octane offense, he will have a chance to bring welcome stability to the position and a veteran presence to the special teams unit.

“He’s a pro, I think he’ll slide right in.”

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9 punter options for the Buffalo Bills

9 punter options for the #Bills:

The Buffalo Bills preseason has concluded, and the team is preparing for its season opener in Los Angeles against the defending Super Bowl Champion Rams in under two weeks’ time.

As the front office and coaching staff work to trim down their final roster, they find themselves in an unexpected position, one they were also in a year ago.

The team needs a punter.

Following the release of 6th-round draft pick Matt Araiza, the Bills are bringing in kickers to work out.

Here is a look at some potential options for the Bills at punter:

What Sean McDermott said about Matt Araiza’s field flipping 82-yard punt

Even Sean McDermott had to sing the praises of the ‘Punt God’

Buffalo Bills rookie punter Matt Araiza took the field for his first preseason game action Saturday following a collegiate campaign that featured some big boots for distance.

So much so, that he was nicknamed the “Punt God”.

Coaches and fans along with members of the media have wondered with anticipation whether the San Diego State product would bring the same powerful kicks to the NFL.

This weekend he did just that, with one of his kicks going for 82-yards in the Bills 27-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

His lone punt of the day, Araiza made it count, sending his kick 66 yards in the air before picking up 16 more on the ground when it landed.

A sixth-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, he had the highest average in NCAA history last year with 51.19 yards and the ability to kick within opponents 20 yard territory. On his way to winning the Ray Guy Award, that included two kicks of at least 80 yards, one of which was 86. That his first kick in gameplay for Buffalo was 82 is no small feat, and it’s only fueling the hype surrounding the young kicker.

His big punt certainly caught the attention of his coaches and teammates as well.

Bills backup QB Case Keenum said “It got everybody geeked up” while addressing the press post-game.

When head coach Sean McDermott was asked about the punt as well, he smiled. “Situationally, to be in those moments of the game, whether you’re a coach or player that’s hard to simulate in practice,” McDermott said while speaking to the media. “Being able to flip the field like that is huge.”

Araiza and veteran P Matt Haack are in a competition for the starting role, and the rookie is certainly making a strong case early to earn it. He also held for another kicker with a big leg, Tyler Bass, on the game-winning field goal.

“Good to see the young guy get out there and make the most of the opportunity,” his coach added.

Araiza will have a chance for more live game action this Saturday, August 20th as the Bills welcome the Denver Broncos to Orchard Park for their second contest of the preseason.

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2022 NFL draft: Bills punter Matt Araiza motivated after slide

2022 NFL draft: #Bills punter Matt Araiza motivated after down the board:

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The Bills made some buzz with their selections in the 2022 NFL Draft and did so on day three, no less.

With the first pick of the sixth round the team took left-footed and right-handed college punting sensation Matt Araiza off the board, a player who was considered by many to be the top talent at his position going into the draft.

During the 2021 college football season as a redshirt junior at San Diego State, Araiza set NCAA records with a 51.2-yard average and 36 punts that went for 50-plus yards, 17 of which were good for a minimum of 60 yards, two that went at least 80 yards, and one of which that went for 86 yards.

He won the 2021 Ray Guy Award as the best collegiate punter and was named a first-team All-American and the Mountain West Conference Special Teams Player of the Year.

Still, NFL teams viewed him as a project, resulting in a slide down the draft board to the sixth round, during which two other punters were selected ahead of him.

“The people who know me know that I take a lot of things very personal,” Araiza said while addressing the media for the first time after being selected. “We’ll just say I have a lot of motivation to dominate this season.”

Even still, he realizes he has some work to do to compete in the NFL.

“I think every aspect of the pro-level I need to continue to work on,” he said. “I’m by no means a complete player yet, but I’m excited to get into the building and work with the staff and work with the other teams and get ready to just help the team as much as we can on special teams.”

He played as a full-time punter for only one season in college, so it says a lot that he was able to accomplish what he did. He started as a place-kicker and went on to set a San Diego State-record 22 field goals, was perfect on extra points in 2019, and placed 78.5% of his kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks.

While he has the leg strength and experience at all three kicking positions, he’ll need to improve solely as a punter in holding, hang time, and punts in short-field situations to help give the Bills offense more possession opportunities.

“My first goal is to be a starter as a punter and a holder. That’s more on my mind right now,” Araiza said. “I’ve mostly put field goals to the side, at least for this pre-draft process, because I had more things I needed to change about my punting game. I needed to add hang time and add direction and become more of a pro-style punter. So I definitely had more work to do in the punting department.”

The first player off the board at his position, Penn State’s Jordan Stout whom the Bills had a pre-draft visit, was taken by Baltimore in the fourth round using the pick they acquired from Buffalo via their first-round swap to move up and select CB Kaiir Elam.

 
As he had no experience holding in high school or in college, he’ll need to learn to develop as one for Bass on field goals and extra-point attempts. He’d worked out back home in San Diego pre-draft with former Chargers kicker Nick Novak and held for Seahawks kicker Jason Myers, beginning to learn what kickers are looking for in holding.
 
GM Brandon Brandon Beane believes he’s in a good position to learn from current Bills punter Matt Haack as well. 
 
“Some kickers are late getting it down, late getting it the way they want it, give them the laces,” Beane said while addressing the media. “You know that’s the great thing about Matt Haack is that he’s an elite holder.”
 
Araiza appears confident in his ability to adapt to holding as well.
 
“I’m very confident in my hands, I’m confident in myself as an athlete and I’m someone who cares a lot about the success of my team,” added Araiza. “I think all of those qualities will translate well to holding.”
 
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