Can Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen meet Super expectations this year?
Mackenzie Salmon and Ralphie Aversa debate if the Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen can meet their Super Bowl expectations this season.
USA TODAY
Buffalo Bills rookie Matt Araiza, who won the starting punter job earlier this week, did not play in Friday’s preseason game against the Carolina Panthers amid a rape accusation.
Araiza was held out one day after he was named in a civil lawsuit alleging involvement in the gang-rape of minor last year at an off-campus party while attending San Diego State University. Despite traveling with the Bills and arriving at the stadium, he did not punt.
Araiza, 22, known to football fans as the “Punt God,” won the Bills’ starting punter job on Monday after Buffalo released veteran Matt Haack. The Bills selected Araiza in the sixth round of the 2022 draft.
The punter released a statement on Friday after being sidelined.
“The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press,” Araiza said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports by his agent, Joe Linta. “I look forward to quickly setting the record straight.”
MATT ARAIZA: Buffalo Bills rookie accused in lawsuit of involvement in gang-rape of minor
OPINION: Don’t buy Bills’ claim of a ‘thorough examination’ of rape allegation against Matt Araiza
With Haack out and Araiza sidelined, the Bills do not have another punter on their roster.
Punt duties Friday night fell to backup quarterback Matt Barkley. The USC product’s first punt vs. the Panthers traveled 33 yards. Barkley handled punting duties throughout the game, averaging 40 yards per punt on four punts. He had a long of 53 yards.
The civil lawsuit, which was obtained by USA TODAY Sports, alleges Araiza had sex with an inebriated 17-year-old high school senior outside of an off-campus party before bringing her inside a room where she was allegedly assaulted by multiple men, including at least one player currently listed on the San Diego State football roster.
“We were recently made aware of a civil complaint involving Matt from October 2021,” the Bills said in a statement released Thursday night. “Due to the serious nature of the complaint, we conducted a thorough examination of this matter. As this is an ongoing civil casel, we will have no other comment at this point.”
Araiza’s attorney, Kerry Armstrong, told The Los Angeles Times that the rape allegations against him are nothing more than a “shakedown because he’s now with the Buffalo Bills.”
MORE: Bills never spoke to woman who accused Matt Araiza of rape, woman’s attorney says
