Kansas City Chiefs will bring back punter Matt Araiza for 2026 season
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- The Chiefs signed punter Matt Araiza to a one-year contract for the 2026 season.
- Araiza was an exclusive rights free agent and could not negotiate with other teams.
- In 2025, Araiza landed 25 punts inside the 20, tied for 11th in the NFL.
The Kansas City Chiefs have signed punter Matt Araiza to a one-year contract for the 2026 season, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Rapoport cited Araiza’s agents, Nick and TJ Linta of JL Sports.
Araiza, 25, had been an exclusive rights free agent (ERFA). An ERFA is a player with fewer than three accrued seasons whose contract has expired. Because the Chiefs offered a one-year tender, Araiza couldn’t negotiate with other teams.
Araiza first entered the NFL as a sixth-round pick of the Buffalo Bills in the 2022 NFL Draft. The Bills released Araiza ahead of the season after a civil lawsuit alleged sexual assault. Prosecutors later declined to press charges, citing evidence that he was not present when the alleged assault occurred.
After Araiza spent 2023 out of football, the Chiefs signed him in 2024 after moving on from Tommy Townsend, who signed with the Houston Texans. Araiza spent the 2024 season as the Chiefs’ punter, but the team brought in Eddie Czaplicki last offseason as competition.
Araiza improved on his pooch punts, and the Chiefs ultimately waived Czaplicki and stuck with Araiza for the 2025 season. In 2025, Araiza landed 25 punts inside the 20-yard line, tied for 11th in the league.
