To revamp or not to revamp?
The Buffalo Bills’ special teams unit was ranked just 27th overall in Bill Huber’s special teams rankings this offseason. Huber, who took the mantle from famed special teams connoisseur Rick Gosselin, had the Bills ranked in the top 10 in just one category for 2024: made field goal percentage, where the Bills ranked ninth.
Head coach Sean McDermott dismissed special teams coordinator Matthew Smiley this offseason, hiring veteran special teams coach Chris Tabor in his place. Will a change in coordinator lead to a change in personnel for Buffalo’s special teams grouping?
In today’s state of the Bills’ roster discussion, we profile the four main players on special teams.
K Tyler Bass
- Contract Status for 2025: Signed; second year of four-year deal worth $20.4 million overall ($4.67 million cap hit; $3.06 million dead-cap hit if cut or traded; 1.7% of total team cap)
- Age: 28 (29 on 2/14/2026)
- Playing Time: 17 games, 196 special teams snaps (43.95% of team total)
- Key Statistics: 24/29 FG, 59/64 PAT, 1 tackle
Based on the numbers, Bass’ 2024 season was nearly identical to his 2023 campaign. He hit 82.8% of his field goals for the second year in a row, and was actually 24-of-29 for the second year in a row, as well.
The vibes surrounding Bass were much better in 2024, however, and that was especially true after he drilled a career-long 61-yard field goal to beat the Miami Dolphins in Week 9. Over the last two seasons, Bass has been better from 50 yards or more (8-of-10 field goals made) than he has while attempting field goals from 40-49 yards (11-of-17 field goals made), and his made extra-point percentage has dipped in each of the last three seasons.
To me, this suggests that most of his issues are mental, but I’m not a professional kicker or a special teams coach. After struggling during the 2023 postseason, Bass was a perfect 6-for-6 in the playoffs this past season, including two made field goals of over 50 yards. He hit all seven of his postseason PATs, as well.
P Jake Camarda
- Contract Status for 2025: Signed; one-year reserve/future contract worth $1.1 million overall ($1.1 million cap hit; $0 dead-cap hit if released or traded; .4% of total team cap)
- Age: 25 (26 on 4/20/2025)
- Playing Time: N/A
- Key Statistics: 4 games, 13 punts, 45.3 yards per punt, 36.5 net yards per punt, 5 punts inside the 20-yard line; 24 kickoffs, 18 touchbacks (All stats accrued with Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Camarda began the season with the Buccaneers, the only team he’d been with in his professional career after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The Bucs released Camarda after four games, and he remained unsigned until January 7, which is when he signed that reserve/future deal with Buffalo.
He’ll serve as training camp competition for Sam Martin, and could be a sneaky candidate to make the final roster if he has a good showing in the spring and summer.
LS Reid Ferguson
- Contract Status for 2025: Unsigned; UFA
- Age: 30 (31 on 3/24/2025)
- Playing Time: 17 games, 148 special teams snaps (33.18% of team total)
- Key Statistics: 2 tackles
You know a place is a true football town when fans buy the long snapper’s jersey and wear it to games. That’s not to say that long snappers aren’t important members of a team, but they are definitely players whose anonymity is generally a sign that they’re doing their job well.
Ferguson may be a free agent, but I would be stunned if he isn’t re-signed this spring.
P Sam Martin
- Contract Status for 2025: Signed; final year of three-year deal worth $6 million overall ($2.485 million cap hit; $400,000 dead-cap hit if cut or traded; .9% of total team cap)
- Age: 35 (36 on 2/27/2026)
- Playing Time: 17 games, 150 special teams snaps (33.63% of team total)
- Key Statistics: 54 punts, 46.7 yards per punt, 39.8 net yards per punt, 25 punts downed inside the 20, 5 punts for touchback
Martin was once again toward the bottom of the league in terms of gross and net yards per punt, but he did improve slightly on his 2023 season output. His total number of punts has crept up every year he’s been with the club, as 2024 was his highest punt total as a member of the Bills.
Having just turned 35, he’s the second-oldest player on the roster, trailing only edge rusher Von Miller. The Bills could save approximately $2 million by releasing Martin this offseason.
Really, there’s only two things to be done here. I don’t believe you move on from Bass, as he seemed buoyed by the confidence that came with nailing that 61-yard field goal over Miami in the middle of the season. He rode that wave to a successful output, and his contract is such where the Bills would end up investing more money in a kicker if they decided to move on than they would if they merely kept Bass this season. To me, he’s safe.
The first move has to be to re-sign Ferguson. I doubt that Buffalo’s long-snapper and grill-master extraordinaire wants to leave, so they don’t necessarily have to rush. However, they shouldn’t wait too long, either. A two-year deal that makes him easy to release and then re-sign after final roster cuts would be the ideal ticket.
The second move is to make a decision on Sam Martin. I don’t believe the Bills gain any advantage by releasing him early, as $2 million isn’t chump change — but it isn’t going to be the space-clearing move to bring in a player like edge rusher Myles Garrett, either.
Allowing Jake Camarda to compete with Martin this offseason is a sensible move that gives Buffalo the option to retain the veteran if they so choose. While Martin hasn’t been great, it’s not as if Camarda was among the league’s best punters when he was with Tampa Bay.
Camarda was averaging 45.3 yards per punt and netting just 36.5 yards per punt prior to his release last season. While he tied for fifth in the league in gross punting in 2023, averaging 50 yards per punt, he was just 18th in net yards per punt, suggesting that he might be the type to sacrifice hang time for distance. Just 10 of his 77 punts in 2023 were fair caught, and his punts were returned for 455 yards, which was the third-highest total in the league.
Martin, by contrast, had 13 of his 54 punts fair caught this season, and his punts were returned for 213 yards, just the 18th-highest total in the league.
So yes, it appears that a competition at punter is upon us. I only want to see Martin lose his job if he’s truly lost it, not just because of the money he’s owed. The Bills could also release him and add another player, but they’ve prioritized the punter’s ability to hold and his familiarity with Tyler Bass before, so they may hesitate to give him two unfamiliar holders in camp.
Aside from that punter competition, expect more of the same from Buffalo’s specialists next season.