Former Bills Punter Matt Araiza Does Not Sign In Mexico, Still Hoping For Another NFL Opportunity

Matt Araiza, the former Buffalo Bills punter who was released in 2022 following gang rape allegations, is still searching for a new football home. The 22-year-old was reportedly set to sign with a professional team in Mexico, but that didn't come to fruition.

Galgos de Tijuana, the team Araiza was expected to sign with, shared a post to Instagram welcoming him to the team last week. While the post is still public, ESPN's Adam Schefter has since stated that the punter's agent said Araiza did not sign with the team and is hoping for another NFL opportunity in the near future.

In August 2022, a lawsuit was made public filed by an unnamed minor against Araiza and two of his former San Diego State teammates. Araiza was released by the Bills two days after the lawsuit was made public.

In December, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office stated that Araiza nor his former teammates would be criminally charged. A civil lawsuit is set to get underway in October 2023.

Matt Araiza was released by the Buffalo Bills two days after the lawsuit was made public. (Photo by Joshua Bessex/Getty Images)

The lawsuit recounted disturbing assertions of conduct toward the alleged victim:

“The teen told Araiza she was a high school student and, even though he could see she was highly intoxicated, he took her outside and told her to perform oral sex, then had sex with her.

“Then Araiza took her to a bedroom where Leonard, Ewaliko and at least one other man were, the complaint alleged, and threw her down on the bed face first. The lawsuit said she was raped for an hour and a half until the party was shut down.”

Araiza's parents quickly came to the defense of their son explaining that he is part of a cancelation and extortion attempt.

“He has been extorted, discriminated against, harassed and the subject of multiple and continuous threats of violence and death," Araiza's parents wrote in a statement. "He has been released from his job and our entire family continues to receive horrific threats of violence and death. We have all been canceled. Every member of our family."

Araiza was drafted by the Bills in the sixth-round of the 2022 NFL Draft after setting the NCAA record for average punt yardage during his junior season in San Diego.