Bills Release Rookie Punter Matt Araiza Amid Sexual Assault Allegations

The Buffalo Bills have decided to move on from Matt Araiza.

Buffalo released the rookie punter on Saturday, ending his tenure with the team following accusations of sexual assault being levied against him last week.

Bills head coach Sean McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane announced the decision in a press conference with local and national media. “This afternoon, we decided that releasing Matt Araiza was the best thing to do,” Beane said. “Our culture in Buffalo is more important than winning football games.”

Araiza did not dress for Buffalo’s preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers on Friday after he and two former San Diego State teammates (Zavier Leonard and Pa’a Ewaliko) were accused of gang-raping a 17-year-old high school student in a civil suit filed Thursday in California.

In the days since the accusations, diary pages were tweeted by the alleged victim’s attorney Daniel Gilleon, offering details of the events.

The Bills did not know of the allegations during the NFL Draft in April, where they chose Araiza with pick No. 180, according to Beane the team first found out about them in July. That means Buffalo knew about the allegations when it released 2021 starting punter Matt Haack from the roster, seemingly giving the job to Araiza.

“This is bigger than football,” Beane said repeatedly during the press conference.