Sam Martin (American football)

Last updated

Sam Martin
Sam Martin (51651272550) (cropped).jpg
Martin with the Denver 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 2, 2024
Punts:706
Punting yards:32,597
Punting average:46.2
Longest punt:72
Inside 20:265
Player stats at PFR

Sam Joseph Martin (born February 27, 1990) is an American professional 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]

Contents

Early life

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 at Appalachian State University, 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
HeightWeightArm lengthHand span
6 ft 0+18 in
(1.83 m)
206 lb
(93 kg)
30 in
(0.76 m)
8+12 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. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. [4]

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. [5]

Martin signed a four-year contract extension with the Lions on September 9, 2016. [6] 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. [7]

On September 2, 2017, Martin was placed on the non-football injury list after suffering an ankle injury during the offseason. [8] [9] He was activated to the active roster on October 28, 2017, for the team's Week 8 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. [10]

Denver Broncos

On March 30, 2020, Martin signed a three year, $7.05 million deal with the Denver Broncos. [11]

Martin was released by the Broncos on August 29, 2022, after he refused to take a pay cut. [12]

Buffalo Bills

On August 31, 2022, Martin signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Bills. [13] He signed a three-year, $7.5 million contract extension on March 13, 2023. [14]

NFL career statistics

Legend
BoldCareer high

Regular season

YearTeamPunting
GPPuntsYdsNet YdsLngAvgNet AvgBlkIns20TB
2013 DET 16723,3992,9497247.240.412210
2014 DET 16683,1382,7277146.140.10295
2015 DET 16803,6793,3566646.042.00253
2016 DET 16623,0102,7406348.544.20233
2017 DET 10411,7791,5436443.437.60136
2018 DET 16743,3102,8986144.739.20324
2019 DET 16763,4453,1756245.341.80317
2020 DEN 16653,0402,7346946.841.41194
2021 DEN 17673,0832,8696846.042.80283
2022 BUF 16452,1461,8956747.741.21165
2023 BUF 17512,3342,0307045.839.80243
Career17270132,36328,9167246.241.1326253

Playoffs

YearTeamPunting
GPPuntsYdsNet YdsLngAvgNet AvgBlkIns20TB
2014 DET 141421424835.535.5020
2016 DET 152322275546.445.4020
2022 BUF 294183205346.435.6031
2023 BUF 252231965244.639.2020
Career6231,0158855544.138.5091

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References

  1. "2013 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Appalachian State Mountaineers Profile". appstatesports.com.
  3. "2013 NFL Draft Scout Sam Martin College Football Profile". DraftScout.com. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
  4. "2013 NFL All-Rookie Team". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
  5. "Lions' Martin wins NFC award; Tulloch honored, too". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  6. Shook, Nick (September 9, 2016). "Theo Riddick, Sam Martin agree to Lions extensions". NFL.com. Retrieved October 29, 2016.
  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.