Colton Schmidt

Colton Schmidt (born October 27, 1990) is an American former professional football player who was a punter for five seasons with the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL) from 2014 to 2018. He played college football for the UC Davis Aggies before signing with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in 2013.

Schmidt was cut by the 49ers during the 2013 preseason and was soon signed by the Cleveland Browns, but was cut again before the start of the regular season. He had another offseason stint with the 49ers in 2014 before signing with the Bills prior to the start of the regular season. After being released by the Bills in 2018, Schmidt spent the next two years with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and the Los Angeles Wildcats of the XFL, respectively.

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers (first stint) Schmidt signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent, following the 2013 NFL draft, on July 15, 2013. He was waived on August 2, but re-signed with the team on a three-year contract four days later.

Cleveland Browns Schmidt was claimed off waivers by the Cleveland Browns. He did not make the roster and was waived by the team during final roster cuts.

San Francisco 49ers (second stint) Schmidt was signed by the 49ers for the second time on January 7, 2014. He was released by the team on August 26, 2014.

Buffalo Bills On August 30, 2014, Schmidt was signed by the Buffalo Bills. Schmidt was signed to handle punting duties, while Jordan Gay was signed as a kickoff specialist.

On January 4, 2016, the Bills signed Schmidt to a contract extension.

After initially not being tendered an offer as a restricted free agent after the 2016 season, on March 8, 2017, Schmidt re-signed with the Bills.

On September 2, 2018, Schmidt was released by the Bills after the team claimed Corey Bojorquez off waivers. He was re-signed by the Bills on October 31 after Bojorquez was placed on injured reserve. On November 27, 2018, the Bills released Schmidt again to sign Matt Darr.

Birmingham Iron Schmidt signed with the Birmingham Iron of the Alliance of American Football on January 9, 2019. After a week 3 game against the Atlanta Legends where he averaged 49.2 gross yards on 5 punts, Schmidt was named the AAF special teams player of the week. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

Los Angeles Wildcats In October 2019, Schmidt was selected by the Los Angeles Wildcats in the 2020 XFL draft's open phase. He was placed on injured reserve before the start of the regular season on February 6, 2020. He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season Year Team Punting Punts 2014 BUF 16 86 3,692 3,326 67 42.9 38.7 0 31 6 2015 BUF 16 82 3,802 3,384 65 46.4 41.3 0 22 3 2016 BUF 16 75 3,183 2,861 58 42.4 38.1 0 20 3 2017 BUF 16 79 3,529 3,199 60 44.7 40.5 0 28 6 2018 BUF 3 16 676 540 55 42.3 33.8 0 4 2 Career 67 338 14,882 13,310 67 44.0 39.4 0 105 20

Playoffs Year Team Punting Punts 2017 BUF 1 8 347 325 55 43.4 40.6 0 5 0 Career 1 8 347 325 55 43.4 40.6 0 5 0