Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
- 2,455
- 0
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Ultimately, what brought new Broncos punter Sam Martin to Denver may have been the guidance of two longtime great NFL specialists.
In Detroit, Martin's kicking compadre was Matt Prater, who spent more than six years with the Broncos before joining Martin on the Lions. The two have handled the place-kicking and punting duties for the Lions for all but six games since Prater's first game for the team in Week 6 of the 2014 season.
In that time, Martin said, Prater has occasionally shared his thoughts on playing in Colorado and living here. Throughout the years, those words have stayed consistent, and when Martin became a free agent, those words became influential.
"Prater has become, over these years, ... one of my best friends," Martin said. "I was definitely close to him in the locker room. Obviously, we spent every minute together, but he's been a great friend to me and a great teammate. And he had nothing but good things to say about Denver, since the day he walked in until the conversation yesterday. He says it's just a great place to live, great people, great organization. He got me really excited about it and I just know how much he loves Denver. He's kind of pointed me in the right direction as far as where to live, places to go, stuff like that. It's nice having somebody who spent so much time there helping me out with that."
More than that, the football fit had to work, too. For firsthand advice on that, Martin turned to former Colts punter Pat McAfee, whom Martin considers a mentor.
McAfee told him that he thought Martin's potential fit in Denver with Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon would be a natural one. McMahon was McAfee's special teams coordinator in Indianapolis from 2013 until McAfee's retirement following the 2016 season. During those four years, McAfee made two Pro Bowls and earned a first-team All-Pro selection.
In McAfee's eyes, he and Martin have similar punting styles, so the fit makes sense.