The Broncos will bail on Sam Martin‘s contract after two seasons. They are releasing the veteran punter Monday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Martin had been competing with Corliss Waitman for Denver’s punting gig. Money looks to have motivated this transaction, however.
Martin’s three-year contract carried a $2.25M base salary for 2022. The Broncos will pocket that amount by cutting their incumbent punter, who had no guarantees remaining in his three-year, $7.05M deal. That money was behind this release, per 9News’ Mike Klis, who notes the team was informed Sunday that Martin would not accept a pay cut (Twitter link).
This release comes after Martin finished with back-to-back seasons, in Denver’s friendly punting confines, with yards-per-punt averages at or north of 46.0. The former Lions punter, who is going into his age-32 season, should generate interest on the market. This move also comes after the Titans released former Broncos punter Brett Kern, putting two veteran punters in free agency. Both were vested veterans, passing them through waivers.
Waitman, 27, has just two games’ worth of experience. Both came in 2021 for the Steelers. Pittsburgh waived Waitman in January, leading to a Denver claim. It could well lead to the South Alabama alum being the Broncos’ Week 1 punter. Waitman is only set to make $825K this season.
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