Getty Sam Martin punting against the Raiders.
As teams begin to make roster cuts to get down to their 53-man roster, the Denver Broncos made their first move.
Denver kicked things off by releasing veteran punter Sam Martin. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Martin refused to take a pay reduction. Martin was scheduled to make $2.25 million and own a cap hit of $2.73 million.
By releasing Martin, Denver will only face a dead cap of $483,000 and save $1.4 million.
Martin was a fifth-round pick of the 2013 NFL Draft for the Detroit Lions. After being named to the All-Rookie team, Martin would spend a total of seven years with the Lions before testing free agency.
Once free agency opened, Martin would sign a three-year deal with the Broncos worth $7.05 million. On “The Pat McAfee Show,” back in 2020, Martin explained why he chose Denver instead of going back to Detroit.
Martin Set A Broncos Record in 2021
Last season in Denver, Martin set a franchise record for net punting (42.8), per footballdb.com. Martin broke Britton Colquitt’s record back in 2012 after setting the record at 42.1. The former Bronco and Lion also had the third-best net punting in Broncos history with 41.4 in 2020.
In 2021, Martin ranked fifth in net average and was 10th in 2020. Because the quarterback play had been so bad in Denver, Martin punted the ball 131 times over the past two seasons for a total of 5,603 net yards.
Who Replaces Martin?
As of right now, the Broncos are going to roll with left-footed punter, Corliss Waitman.
Denver claimed Waitman back in February after being waived by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In two games with the Steelers, Waitman punted seven times with an average of 52.1 yards per punt. His longest punt turned out to be a 63 yarder.
Waitman and Martin split a lot of reps during training camp and into the preseason. During the second preseason game, Waitman got all of the reps after Martin missed the game due to a minor ankle injury that he suffered pregame against the Bills. Waitman also started the final preseason game against the Vikings.
According to Andrew Mason of Denverfan.com, Waitman had six punts in the preseason compared to Martin’s four. Martin had two punts returned while Waitman had none.
Waitman, the second-year punter, had an average hangtime of 4.65 seconds and Martin had just 4.09 seconds. The net average even fell into Waitman’s favor, 40-36.3. Seems pretty clear that Waitman had a better preseason than Martin.
Waitman will also be the holder for kicker Brandon McManus.
Martin Has Options
Even though the Broncos are moving on from their punter after two seasons, Martin suddenly becomes one of the top punters on the free agent market.
The Tennessee Titans released their three-time Pro Bowl punter Brett Kern. The All-Pro punter lost the punting battle this preseason to rookie Ryan Stonehouse of Colorado St., according to ESPN’s NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
Kern had been punting for Tennessee since 2009 after he was released by Denver with head coach Josh McDaniels leading the way.
Tennessee could take a chance and change their mind on Stonehouse now that Martin is available.
The Buffalo Bills are also in need of a big-time leg after they released Matt Araiza due to sexual assault allegations.
Buffalo could go ahead and add Martin since their third-string quarterback Matt Barkley was named the punter for their final preseason game.
It’s fair to say that Martin likely won’t be out of a job very long and could be added to a Super Bowl contender.