Rape Charges Against ‘Punt God’ Matt Araiza Dropped

The former Buffalo Bills draft pick was cut by the team before the start of the season over the allegations.

Matt Araiza and 2 of his college teammates at San Diego State University were accused of raping a 17-year-old girl at a party. The allegations were graphic and shocking at that time, as noted here:

Those charges, however, have officially been dropped as of today.

This ends a many months-long investigations. Araiza was the top-rated punter in his draft class. Nicknamed "The Punt God" for his incredibly strong and accurate leg, the Bills drafted him in the 6th round of the 2022 NFL Draft, which many consider very high for a punter. He won the starting job in training camp from veteran Matt Haack and looked to be on his way to a very good rookie year. Then the rape allegations came out and the BIlls, understandably, cut the controversial punter. Araiza has maintained his innocence despite some initially damming evidence.

As far as the Buffalo Bills punting situation now, the team currently has Sam Martin. no word on if that will change. From a football perspective, the team was very high on Araiza but received harsh criticism for their handling of the allegations against him.