Araiza will get a second chance in the NFL with Kansas City
Here’s some news that’s certain not to cause an uproar for more than just a few reasons with some of Bills Mafia. As the title reveals, punter Matt Araiza — a former sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills who was released ahead of the 2022 NFL regular season following disturbing allegations of sexual violence including gang rape — has signed a free-agent contract with the Kansas City Chiefs. The news was shared late on Thursday afternoon by Adam Schefter, citing an anonymous source.
That’s good news for Araiza, who’s spoken often about his desire to resume his dream of playing in the NFL. This should also be good news for One Bills Drive, which hopefully can finally close the book on what had become a very public personnel decision.
A big development in KC: Chiefs are signing former Bills punter Matt Araiza, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 22, 2024
Whether you feel Araiza should have been retained, re-signed, or had the situation handled as it has been by the Bills — this is simply a reminder that losing Matt Araiza doesn’t end the Buffalo Bills’ hopes of eventually winning a Super Bowl.
During the 2023 NFL regular season, the calls for Buffalo to bring Araiza back were spread out and loud. Incumbent punter Sam Martin, who was signed following Araiza’s release, struggled at times this past season. Martin rebounded to post a fantastic pair of postseason games, showing no signs of his regular-season slump.
A timeline of our previous coverage about Matt Araiza
- 2022/08/25 — Matt Araiza among 3 San Diego State football players accused of gang rape
- 2022/08/25 — Despite gang-rape allegations, Matt Araiza set to play Friday vs. Panthers
- 2022/08/26 — Matt Araiza will not play against the Carolina Panthers after all
- 2022/08/26 — Matt Araiza gang-rape lawsuit: Attorneys for both sides trade public barbs
- 2022/08/26 — Matt Araiza releases first public statement since civil allegations of gang rape
- 2022/08/27 — Some NFL teams knew of gang-rape allegations against Araiza
- 2022/08/27 — Sean McDermott emotional addressing Matt Araiza gang-rape accusations
- 2022/08/27 — Bills release Matt Araiza amid gang-rape allegations
- 2022/08/27 — List of free-agent punters for Buffalo Bills to sign
- 2022/08/28 — Bills work out four punters Sunday, but don’t sign any
- 2022/08/28 — Without civil lawsuit, Matt Araiza would still be the Bills’ punter
- 2022/08/30 — Two new potential punters enter the mix for the Buffalo Bills
- 2022/08/30 — Dion Dawkins, Mitch Morse speak up about the Matt Araiza situation
- 2022/09/01 — Buffalo Bills sign Sam Martin as their new punter
- 2023/12/12 — Civil suit against former Bills punter Matt Araiza withdrawn by plaintiff
- 2023/12/09 — Brandon Beane responds to latest Araiza news (question at end of article)
- 2023/12/15 — Araiza says people in Bills’ organization ‘frequently check in’ on him