Getty Sam Martin boots a ball against the Giants.
The Detroit Lions have very quietly lost a key member of the team heading toward the 2020 season in punter Sam Martin.
According to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network, Martin has agreed to a new contract with the Denver Broncos. Martin will join Denver on a 3 year pact in which he will be paid $7.05 million dollars.
Punters are free agents too, @richeisen. #Broncos have agreed with former #Lions P Sam Martin to a three-year, $7.05 million deal, source says.
Now that Martin is departing, the Lions will have to prioritize the punter position either in free agency or the draft. It’s more likely to be in the draft, given there is a lack of free agent punters on the market at this point.
Sam Martin Stats
Martin was drafted by the Lions in 2013 as a fifth round pick out of Appalachian State. While playing for the Lions, Martin has been known as a punter with a big leg, given he also handles the team’s kickoffs. Martin has never made a Pro Bowl but was named an alternate for the game in 2017. Through his career, he has netted 21,760 punting yards with 175 punts landing inside the 20 yard line.
Fair or unfair, Martin is known for a few shanks during his time in Detroit, namely one in the postseason. Other than that, he was a very solid punter for the team.
Broncos Also Signed Graham Glasgow From Lions
Last Monday, the Broncos stole another player from Detroit, agreeing to a deal with former Detroit Lions guard Graham Glasgow. The deal is said to be a 4 year, $44 million dollar contract for the guard, who has come into his own playing up front for Detroit. ESPN’s Adam Schefter first broke the news.
Broncos signing OL Graham Glasgow to a four-year, $44 million contract, including $26 million guaranteed, @SPORTSTARSNYC tells ESPN.
Glasgow was assumed to be on the move from Detroit, and that ended up being the case when all was said and done. Now, Glasgow will head to Denver to try and solidify that offensive front.
Graham Glasgow Frustrated With Leaving Lions
Speaking to the Detroit Free Press and writer Dave Birkett, Glasgow was asked about the decision of the Lions to apparently let him walk and test free agency. It’s something which the player that was a draft pick of the team just a few years ago is a bit disappointed about.
Here’s what he told Birkett:
“I’m bummed that I’m not able to stay cause I love Michigan and I love the Detroit area, Ann Arbor,” Glasgow told the Free Press in a phone interview Monday night. “I’ve been here for almost about a decade now and it’s awesome and I really, really like the guys in the locker room and I think we have a good team and a good group of guys. So in that regards, it sucks. But you don’t play football forever, so I think that being able to go somewhere else and make some money is an exciting thing.”
Glasgow, who spent five seasons at Michigan football and played the last four years with the Lions, will be one of the most coveted offensive linemen in a free agent market that should be flush with cash regardless of whether players approve a new collective bargaining agreement this weekend.”
Glasgow played football at Michigan and made the seamless transition to Detroit, which is not that far down the road from Ann Arbor. To that end, it makes sense that he would be frustrated to leave. Now, the Lions will have to patch another hole up front as a result at guard.
Now, he will have Martin joining him in Denver.
READ NEXT: Mel Kiper Mock Draft Changes Lions Pick