Matt Araiza, the strong-legged punter whose career was derailed by a sexual assault accusation, appears poised to win the Chiefs’ punting job for the 2024 season.
The Chiefs cut punter Ryan Rehkow, which leaves Araiza as the only punter on their roster. It’s still possible that the Chiefs could bring in another punter to compete with Araiza, but it looks like Araiza is going to be the Chiefs’ punter when the regular season starts.
Araiza won the Bills’ punting job as a rookie in 2022, but when news surfaced that he had been accused in a lawsuit of gang rape while he was in college, the Bills cut him and he was out of the NFL for more than a year. Araiza was never criminally charged, and the accuser later dropped her lawsuit.
At San Diego State, Araiza was widely regarded as the best punter in college football, winning the Ray Guy Award and setting a new NCAA record by averaging 51.2 yards per punt. Araiza also handled kickoffs and field goals in college.
With the off-field issue that ended his tenure in Buffalo behind him, Araiza now has an opportunity to show what he can do in the NFL. If he’s as good as he was in college, he should be one of the best punters in football this season.
