The Buffalo Bills have been on a nice run as of late. However, one position has seen some turnover due to some lackluster results.
Buffalo Bills fans will tune in to Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins and see a new player punting the ball. Unless the offense dominates so much and never needs to punt. That would be something.
Colton Schmidt was a familiar name to Bills fans, as he had been with the team from 2014-2017 before being let go before this season in favor of Cory Bojorquez. Then Bojorquez got hurt and it was Schmidt’s time to shine again.
Only he didn’t.
The punter was let go again this week in favor of Matt Darr, who has been out of the league for over a year.
Sean McDermott on releasing Colton Schmidt: “The quality of the punting this year has been an issue and remains an issue.” Bills now on their third punter, Matt Darr, after releasing Schmidt (twice) and putting Corey Bojorquez on IR.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) November 28, 2018
Punter isn’t the first position that comes to mind when thinking about what the Bills need to upgrade. But it is great to see the team seeking to get better production out of the position instead of being complacent.
The release of Schmidt for the second time this season illustrates what life is like as a punter. You can be let go at any time, and then snatched up mid-week like Darr was after being out of the league.
Darr has a career net average of 39.8 yards in two seasons, while Schmidt is at 33.8 yards this season. This is not something that jumps out as overtly terrible compared to Darr, but clearly the coaching staff was fed up.
Fans who liked Schmidt as a person will be mad but should get over it soon. If Darr comes in and makes even the slightest difference in a game by flipping the field position, that is all we can ask for.
And with the way things have gone, Schmidt could be back in Buffalo at some point in his career.