Bills carrying only one punter, but 'it's still a competition' for ex-Bengals pick

The Buffalo Bills have apparently yet to settle on their punter for the 2025 season, but they currently have only one choice

Buffalo Bills punter Brad Robbins gets ready to receive another ball to kick during Bills Training Camp at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford on July 31, 2025. | Tina MacIntyre-Yee/Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

He's currently the only punter on the Buffalo Bills' 90-man roster, but there's still a chance he isn't the starter when the regular season kicks off on September 7.

Three weeks after signing former Tampa Bay Buccaneers' starting punter Jake Camarda, the Bills added former Cincinnati Bengals' sixth-round draft pick Brad Robbins to presumably create a preseason competition for the job. After the two competed throughout OTAs and June minicamp, it appeared the position battle would continue throughout much of training camp.

The Bills, however, were thrown a curve ball when tight end Dawson Knox started training camp on the non-football injury list, and they were forced into a game of roster gymnastics that cost Camarda his roster spot. The July 23 transaction left Robbins as the Bills' lone option, for now.

“Well, it was a numbers game, you know, and that's kind of the world that we're in with the 90 and injuries and those types of things," said special teams coordinator Chris Tabor during the first week of training camp.

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Even though he is no longer facing direct competition on a daily basis, Robbins has a lot to prove to the Bills.

"It's still a competition. You know, Brad has not won this job. He's still competing. He understands that," said Tabor. "And there's still a, you never know if Jake comes back and Jake needs to be ready and he will. He's a good pro. They both did a really nice job in the spring. And it's always tough to make those decisions, but I like both of them."

Cincinnati Bengals punter Brad Robbins (10) punts the ball away in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 18 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

Hit by a slew on injuries over the last couple weeks, the Bills have not had an opportunity to bring a second punter back into the fold.

"Brad is here at this moment. I think he does a nice job with his direction and hang. He had a nice day the other day and hopefully he can continue to build on those things. We'll see," said Tabor.

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Robbins, a 2023 sixth-round draft pick, appeared in all 17 games for the Cincinnati Bengals as a rookie. He posted a 40.1 net punting average.

"Very calm, very steady, knows his swing. So he can look at things. He likes to analyze things, but he doesn't overanalyze," said Tabor.

After Robbins landed on Injured Reserve last summer, the Bengals activated him and subsequently waived the second-year player four weeks into the regular season. Now, he's trying to revive his career with the Bills, and the odds are currently in his favor.

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