Panthers’ punter is a free agent again, but there’s 1 reason he’s OK with that
The Carolina Panthers’ locker room was how you’d expect it to be on the day after the team’s season came to a stunning and emotional end.
It was quiet. A bit anxious. Some players cleaned out their lockers for what they figured would be their last time. Others knew they’d be back. And a few weren’t sure what would happen — they’ll turn free agents in March as it stands now, yes, but they hope they’ll have something signed to come back to Carolina before then.
That last group? That describes Sam Martin to a tee.
Martin, the Panthers’ prolific and productive punter in 2025, finished out his one-year, $1.6 million deal strong. And he did so knowing he had big shoes to fill after signing in March and replacing Johnny Hekker, one of the best punters of his generation.
Now, it’s a waiting game for the unrestricted free agent — one that he’s comfortable playing for one specific reason.
“I think I had a good year,” Martin told The Charlotte Observer. “I did what I could do, and the pieces will fall. Nothing I can do about it now, you know? My part is done.”
And as Martin made clear several times: He’d like to come back. He said “I loved my year here” and “I love everything about this team” and that despite the anxieties that accompany this time of year through March, he was comfortable knowing that he’d done all he could do.
“We’ll see,” Martin said. He then reiterated, “But I’d like to be back here, for sure.”
It’s hard to imagine the Panthers not trying hard to bring him back. After all, Martin, the league’s fourth-longest tenured punter, had a special regular season.
He punted 56 times in all 17 games and averaged a career-second-best 47.2 yards per punt, according to Pro Football Reference. Twenty-seven of those punts landed inside the 20 — 48.2% of all of his attempts, a career-best — and 19.6% landed within the 10. Most importantly, since Week 9, the Panthers only allowed 34 punt return yards — and four of those games they didn’t allow any at all, per Stat Muse.
He also was the Week 7 NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. He also executed a successful onside kick in Week 2. He also didn’t have any blunders holding for rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald or receiving snaps from veteran long snapper JJ Jansen. He also—
Actually, just hear it from special teams coordinator Tracy Smith.
“He’s been in all these situations before,” Smith said. “He’s unflappable in that way. He was just a punter in Buffalo; it doesn’t get any harder than that, so there’s a relief of not being in Buffalo when the weather is challenging. ...
“He’s finished the season incredibly well. He’s bonded with the guys, and they’ve taken to him. ... Nothing but praise for Sam here.”
Bringing back Martin on a multi-year deal seems like it would be in the punter’s best interest. The 35-year-old NFL veteran after all hasn’t been on a one-year deal since 2022, when the Buffalo Bills signed him as a free agent and thereafter signed him to a three-year deal. He spent the previous three years in Denver and the previous nine in Detroit.
“Hope that I did enough to come back,” Martin said. Then again, at peace with what he did all year, he shrugged. “But I’m pretty content with whatever happens.”
This story was originally published January 19, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
