Continuing on with a lengthy Buffalo Bills free agent list, we have QB Case Keenum and punter Sam Martin. Keenum was acquired last off-season in a trade with the Cleveland Browns and reworked his contract, making him a free agent after this season. Bills Mafia had differing opinions on Keenum after the preseason, saying the team should cut him after playing bad while throwing to USFL WRs. But, thankfully, we didn’t have to find out if that was true or not during the regular season.
Sam Martin came to the Bills right before the regular season began after the punter position opened up out of the blue. Martin had an average of 47 yards per punt this season, with a long of 67. Martin, 32 years old, played well enough to deserve a second contract from Buffalo and finally have some continuity at that position. But does the fanbase agree?
What Bills fans think
It seems like most of the fanbase agrees, with “yes” running away with the poll at 84.9%. After signing a $1.2M deal last off-season, he may get a similar deal again this year. IF Buffalo decides to move on, there aren’t a lot of free agent punters.
- Jamie Gillan
- Thomas Morstead
- Bradley Pinion
- Tommy Townsend
“He’s a guy that’s really good at directional punting, placing the ball, especially if you’re talking getting it from minus 40 or minus 45, over to the plus side, those areas where you’re trying to get them not only inside the 20, but down closer to the 10. You didn’t see him missing and booting those balls in the end zone a lot. It’s that sand wedge shot, getting to stick. I think that’s the best thing.”
Brandon Beane after signing Martin (per David De Cristofaro/ BillsWire)
It seems like the fanbase is hooked on Keenum’s preseason tape. But, they may not be wrong. The Bills usually don’t keep backup QBs for very long, moving on from Matt Barkley after the 2020 season, and Mitch Trubisky after one season. Case Keenum may be out after one season as well. There’s plenty of quality backup QBs in free agency, and the Bills may look to go younger there with a player who plays a similar style of ball as Josh Allen.
The Buffalo Bills are still over the salary cap by $16M, so re-signing anybody, including a punter will be difficult.
Potential Free Agent QB2s:
- Drew Lock
- Taylor Heinicke
- Jacoby Brissett
- Cooper Rush
- Mike White
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