Pay reduced, final year of contract voided
The Buffalo Bills and punter Matt Haack agreed to a revised contract on Saturday according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, reducing his pay to $1.135 million for the 2022 season and voiding the final year of his contract.
Haack averaged a career-low 42.9 yards per punt in his fourth year, while placing 32nd in the league in net average, yards per punt, touchback percentage, and average hang time.
Combine the lowly statistics with the Bills attempting the lowest amount of punts in the league, and you see why Bills GM Brandon Beane figured that the value of Haack’s contract should be decreased.
The Bills will likely bring in a rookie to compete with Haack, who has seemingly struggled in adapting in Buffalo after four years in Miami. One thing in Haack’s favor if he were to be in a competition this summer is that he is a steady placeholder for kicker Tyler Bass, who had a stellar 2021 campaign – converting on 28 of 32 field goal attempts.
Is placeholding an important enough factor to retain a punter? We’ll have to see how the offseason plays out. Seeing as the Bills have a poor punting situation as of right now, a name that could be attached to them is the top-ranked punter in the 2022 NFL Draft, Matt Araiza from San Diego State.
