Sam Martin
refer to caption
Martin with the Broncos in 2021
No. 8 – Buffalo Bills
Position:Punter
Personal information
Born: (1990-02-27) February 27, 1990 (age 34)
Fayetteville, Georgia, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:211 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school:Starr's Mill (Fayetteville, Georgia)
College:Appalachian State
NFL draft:2013 / Round: 5 / Pick: 165
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 18, 2023
Punts:701
Punting yards:32,363
Punting average:46.2
Longest punt:72
Inside 20:262
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Sam Joseph Martin (born February 27, 1990) is an American football punter for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Appalachian State, and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft.[1]

Early years

Martin was lettered for soccer for four years and also received all-state recognition in his junior season at Starr's Mill High School.[2]

College career

In his senior season, he was selected to the Associated Press All-America First team.[2] He also was named to the first-team All-America by College Sports Journal and third-team all-America by The Sports Network in his senior season.[2]

Professional career

Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span
6 ft 0+1⁄8 in
(1.83 m) 		206 lb
(93 kg) 		30 in
(0.76 m) 		8+1⁄2 in
(0.22 m)
All values from Pro Day[3]

Detroit Lions

Martin was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL draft.

In Week 12 of the 2015 season, Martin was awarded as the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for four punts totaling 181 yards and only three punt return yards.[4]

Martin signed a four-year contract extension with the Lions on September 9, 2016.[5] At the conclusion of the 2016 NFL season, Martin was named as an alternate for the 2017 Pro Bowl, but did not participate in the game.[6]

On September 2, 2017, Martin was placed on the non-football injury list after suffering an ankle injury during the offseason.[7][8] He was activated to the active roster on October 28, 2017, for the team's Week 8 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.[9]

Denver Broncos

On March 30, 2020, Martin signed a three year, $7.05 million deal with the Denver Broncos.[10]

Martin was released by the Broncos on August 29, 2022, after he refused to take a pay cut.[11]

Buffalo Bills

On August 31, 2022, Martin signed a one year deal with the Buffalo Bills.[12] He signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract extension on March 13, 2023.[13]

NFL career statistics

Legend
Bold Career high

Regular season

Year Team Punting
GP Punts Yds Net Yds Lng Avg Net Avg Blk Ins20 TB
2013 DET 16 72 3,399 2,949 72 47.2 40.4 1 22 10
2014 DET 16 68 3,138 2,727 71 46.1 40.1 0 29 5
2015 DET 16 80 3,679 3,356 66 46.0 42.0 0 25 3
2016 DET 16 62 3,010 2,740 63 48.5 44.2 0 23 3
2017 DET 10 41 1,779 1,543 64 43.4 37.6 0 13 6
2018 DET 16 74 3,310 2,898 61 44.7 39.2 0 32 4
2019 DET 16 76 3,445 3,175 62 45.3 41.8 0 31 7
2020 DEN 16 65 3,040 2,734 69 46.8 41.4 1 19 4
2021 DEN 17 67 3,083 2,869 68 46.0 42.8 0 28 3
2022 BUF 16 45 2,146 1,895 67 47.7 41.2 1 16 5
2023 BUF 17 51 2,334 2,030 70 45.8 39.8 0 24 3
Career 172 701 32,363 28,916 72 46.2 41.1 3 262 53

Playoffs

Year Team Punting
GP Punts Yds Net Yds Lng Avg Net Avg Blk Ins20 TB
2014 DET 1 4 142 142 48 35.5 35.5 0 2 0
2016 DET 1 5 232 227 55 46.4 45.4 0 2 0
2022 BUF 2 9 418 320 53 46.4 35.6 0 3 1
2023 BUF 2 5 223 196 52 44.6 39.2 0 2 0
Career 6 23 1,015 885 55 44.1 38.5 0 9 1

References

  1. ^ "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Appalachian State Mountaineers Profile". appstatesports.com.
  3. ^ "2013 NFL Draft Scout Sam Martin College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  4. ^ "Lions' Martin wins NFC award; Tulloch honored, too". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  5. ^ Shook, Nick (September 9, 2016). "Theo Riddick, Sam Martin agree to Lions extensions". NFL.com. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  6. ^ [1][dead link]
  7. ^ "Lions place P Sam Martin on active/non-football injury list". DetroitLions.com. July 25, 2017. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  8. ^ "Lions establish 53-man roster". DetroitLions.com. September 2, 2017. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017.
  9. ^ "Detroit Lions activate P Sam Martin for Pittsburgh Steelers game". Freep.com. October 28, 2017.
  10. ^ O'Halloran, Ryan (March 24, 2020). "Broncos come to terms with veteran punter Sam Martin on three-year deal, source says". Denver Post. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  11. ^ "Broncos cut punter Sam Martin after he refuses pay cut". NBC Sports. August 29, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  12. ^ "Bills sign punter Sam Martin". BuffaloBills.com. August 31, 2022.
  13. ^ White, Alec (March 13, 2023). "Bills agree to terms with P Sam Martin and LB Tyler Matakevich". BuffaloBills.com.

External links

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