No matter how much the NFL expands its rosters, it’s not likely a team would ever carry two punters.
It was no surprise then that the Broncos waived veteran punters Colby Wadman and Trevor Daniel on Thursday, a month after the team signed former Detroit Lions punter Sam Martin to a three-year, $7.05 million contract.
Although, Wadman said he wasn't surprised by the move today, it's always disappointing to hear the news.
"I loved it here in Denver,'' Wadman said in a phone call with 9News as he was getting ready to watch Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers with his girlfriend, University of Denver star gymnast Maddie Karr. "I wanted to play here as long as I could. They signed Sam Martin so they wanted to go in a different direction.''
Wadman had been the Broncos’ punter since replacing veteran Marquette King for the last 12 games of the 2018 season and all 16 games in 2019. It was Broncos special teams coordinator Tom McMahon who gave Wadman his first NFL shot.
"I'm very appeciative of that,'' Wadman said. "The Broncos were the first team to bring me in and Tom had been working with me for a little bit and he got me in so I'm appreciative I was able to get my foot in the door through Denver."
Asked primarily to directional punt and often near midfield following a Broncos’ offense that had a bad habit of stalling in the high red zone area, Wadman ranked 25th in gross punting with a 44.4-yard average last season and 27th in net (39.4).
"I just try to go out there and do my job regardless of what that is,'' Wadman said. "If that's hit it 30 yards to the 10 or they need me to flip the field. As long as I do what I need to do to help the team win, I don't worry too much about personal stats. Obviously, it looks nice for everybody but as long as the team wins that's the biggest thing I want to do."
Daniel, who had punted previously for the Houston Texans, signed a futures contract with the Broncos two days after the 2019 season ended.
Martin is entering his eighth NFL season after spending seven in Detroit. He ranked 17th in gross punting (45.3) and 11th in net (41.8) last season.
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