Former Buffalo Bills draft pick Matt Araiza has signed with the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Araiza, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft, was released by the Bills after sexual assault allegations arose from his time at San Diego State University.
Araiza has since confirmed the news through his agency, saying “I am proud and honored to sign a contract with the Chiefs. I am thrilled to be able to continue my NFL career. I want to thank my family, who have been my rock and my many friends who have been unwavering in their support.”
The lawsuit alleged that during an off-campus party in Oct. 2021, Araiza, then 21 years old, had sex with the unidentified woman, who was 17 at the time, in the side yard of a house before bringing her into a bedroom where a group of men took turns raping her.
She reported the alleged assault to San Diego police the next day.
Araiza contended that he stayed in the backyard, never entered the home during the party and that he left roughly a half-hour before the alleged raping occurred.
According to the complaint, which was obtained by DailyMail.com, after an hour-and-a-half, the teen “stumbled out of the room bloody and crying,” and that her nose, belly button and ear piercings allegedly had been pulled out.
She immediately told her friends about the rape and the next day reported it to police and underwent a rape exam, according to the lawsuit.
In December, Araiza was dropped from the lawsuit filed by the woman, while Araiza agreed to dismiss his defamation countersuit against her, his attorneys said at the time.
The lawsuit against the four other former San Diego State University players is ongoing.
Araiza, whose nickname on the gridiron is the ‘Punt God,’ was a consensus All-American in 2021 and was known for his booming punts. He likely will be competing for the starting job against Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend, who had a mediocre season with the two-time reigning champions.
After he was dismissed from the suit, Araiza said that the ordeal “changed me a lot” and that he wants another shot at the NFL.
“My name, my reputation — this will be tied to me forever, that won’t go away,” he said at a news conference. “It was tough to watch the pain that it caused my family, because I have been proven innocent but they for sure had absolutely nothing to do with this.”
He also said that he would continue to work to return to the NFL, but wasn’t taking anything for granted.
“When I was cut, I was an NFL starter, had just beat out an NFL veteran. I was on a four-year contract and that won’t be handed back to me. No one in the NFL is going to go ‘Here’s the job that you once had,’ so working to regain where I was at is my primary goal right now,” he said. “I’m confident that I will be able to regain my NFL career — whenever that is. I believe it’s more of a when, not an if.”