The suit against former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza – who was cleared by police of sexual assault allegations – has been dropped by the accuser
The woman who accused former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza of sexual assault has dropped her civil suit against him. Araiza, who was cut from the team following the claims, dropped his counter-suit against her, as well.
Araiza, 23, is currently a free agent and is free to sign with any team in The League now. He was originally drafted by Buffalo in the sixth round of the 2022 Draft. He showed great promise as a rookie, impressing coaches in training camp with power and accuracy. He was viewed as a potential special teams weapon, even though he was just a first-year player.
That all came crashing down, however, as camp began to close. Matt Araiza and two former San Diego State teammates were accused in a civil suit by another fellow former student of rape. When the allegations became public, the Bills decided to distance themselves from the promising punting prospect.
Araiza was released by Buffalo on August 27, 2022… just two weeks before he was set to make his NFL debut.
“The win is bittersweet,” Matt Araiza’s attorney told Yahoo’s Dan Wetzel. “Matt has been forced to defend himself for the last sixteen months against false accusations and a campaign to ruin his career in the NFL. He will never get this time in his life back.”
Araiza earned the nickname “the Punt God” at San Diego State, averaging 51.19 yards per punt in 2021. He would go on to win the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s best college punter that season.
Since his release by the Buffalo Bills, Matt Araiza has had a tryout with the New York Jets back in May, but he was not signed by the team.
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