Buffalo Bills Call Marquette King, Work Out 4 Punters to Replace Matt Araiza; Who Wins Job?
The Buffalo Bills are in the process of working out a quartet of punters following the release of the embattled rookie Matt Araiza, sources tell BillsSI.
On the list: Joseph Charlton, Michael Palardy, Tyler Newsome and Ty Long.
Oh, and a phone call, to ... Marquette King.
On Saturday, the Bills made their "do the right thing'' decision and released talented rookie Matt Araiza amid rape allegations. General manager Brandon Beane cited the importance of the team’s culture over simply winning games.
"Some things are bigger than football,'' Beane said.
But the Bills will soon be back at football, and in Los Angeles to take on the Rams in the NFL season opener. And a punter must be hired.
It seems, though, that Buffalo might wait on the Tuesday cutdown watch around the NFL before zeroing in on a candidate. One interesting name: Brett Kern, a Buffalo-area native and a Pro Bowler in Tennessee who might get released.
Kern, 36, is a two-time All-Pro and a 2004 Grand Island High School graduate who is now a 14-year veteran who has appeared in three straight Pro Bowls and has spent the last 13 seasons with the Titans.
And another interesting name: King last punted professionally while in the XFL in 2020. He averaged 45.7 yards per punt with the St. Louis BattleHawks. Previous to that, he was a "star'' in part for his performance and in part due to his demonstrative antics. Over the weekend, he shouted out to the Bills via Twitter, and that action seemingly caused Buffalo to reached out to King "to see if he was in playing shape.''
Marquette King was not among the punters who were brought in on Sunday, but the veteran has heard from the team. A source tells me that Buffalo reached out to King to see if he was in playing shape.
