Bills find Matt Araiza’s replacement after team release punter following rape allegations

The Buffalo Bills on Wednesday found their replacement for Matt Araiza, who they released following a lawsuit which accuses him of raping a 17-year-old at a party while he was at San Diego State.

The Bills signed punter Sam Martin, who was released by the Denver Broncos before the team trimmed their roster down to 53 players. Martin played in 17 games for the Broncos last season. He totaled 3,083 punting yards in 67 punts and averaged 46 yards per punt.

Martin spent the last two seasons with the Broncos and before that, seven years with the Detroit Lions. He has played in 139 games during his career. Detroit selected Martin in the fifth round of the 2013 draft.

Araiza’s release came less than a week after the Bills cleared the way to make him their starting punter. The team cut veteran Matt Haack to make way for Araiza.

MATT ARAIZA’S RAPE ACCUSER SPEAKS OUT ON ‘TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE’

Buffalo general manager Brandon Beane said the team was not aware of the allegations made against Araiza at the time they selected him in the sixth round of the draft in May. He said they would not have selected him had they known.

A police investigation is ongoing. The results of the investigation are in the hands of the district attorney. There is no timeline as to when a decision will be made on whether to press charges.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.