Buffalo Bills should sign free agent punter Ryan Allen

The Buffalo Bills will be hoping to reach the playoffs in 2019 and any opportunity to improve the team moving forward should be considered.

After suffering through a 6-10 season in 2018, the Buffalo Bills will be hoping to turn things around quickly and get back to the promised land that has eluded them plenty since the turn of the century.

With pre-season rolling along nicely, one position doesn’t look to be as strong as it could be and it is often one that is overlooked by many.

Punter is often the last position that many teams consider but it can be crucial to winning football games, giving teams better positioning on the field and forcing opponents into long drives.

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Last season, the Bills had Matt Darr share time in charge of punting duties with Corey Bojorquez and Colton Schmidt, with the former since departing Orchard Park to suit up for AFC East rivals the New York Jets.

After making eight appearances last season, it is expected that Bojorquez will step up and take on punting duties full-time, but the Bills could have a better option available to them in free agency.

Three-time Super Bowl champion Ryan Allen has recently been released by the New England Patriots after spending all six seasons of his career with the team.

Allen, who won back-to-back Ray Guy Award’s as college football’s most outstanding punter before entering the NFL in 2013, has had a career average of 45.3 yards per punt and would provide the Bills with a veteran player in the position.

Interestingly enough, Bojorquez, the Bills’ punter last season, was originally signed by Allen’s Patriots but was not able to beat out the veteran during camp and the pre-season, leading to his signing with the Bills.

In eight games last season, Bojorquez averaged the same yards per punt as Allen (45.1) but only played half the season.

Allen went on to earn his third Super Bowl ring with the Patriots, a fitting reward for a player that has had just two punts blocked in his entire NFL career.

Allen’s championship pedigree and familiarity with the Bills, having faced them twice a year since 2013, should make him an interesting option for the organisation to consider.

It is not the flashiest position, but stability is important and the Bills operated with three different punters during the 2018 season – not ideal when looking to build chemistry with the likes of kicker Stephen Hauschka.

With the 2019 regular season just a few weeks away, the Buffalo Bills might want to act quickly to see if Allen still has the juice to beat out Bojorquez and be the stable veteran the team needs moving forward.

What do you think Bills Mafia? Would Allen be a worthwhile signing for the team? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!