The Buffalo Bills were forced to use another position player as a special teams leg for the second time in three preseason games and, once again, they showed up big. In Buffalo’s first preseason game, running back Ray Davis filled in as a kicker while Tyler Bass was sidelined with an injury.
On Saturday night, backup tight end Zach Davidson volunteered for punter duty with starter Brad Robbins out last minute due to an illness. Davidson got to boot the ball twice against Tampa Bay: One went 42 yards and pinned the Buccaneers inside the 20, and the other went a whopping 62 yards and would have flipped the field if not for a 22-yard return.
Davidson was a punter in college at Central Missouri and a darned good one, setting a school record and finishing second in the nation with 44.3 yards per punt on 47 punts in 2017. Davidson has been a consistent practice squad player with the Bills for the last three seasons after being drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in Round 5 of the 2021 NFL Draft, but he has only one career catch.
Davidson was also at the center of an altercation with Buccaneers safety Shilo Sanders who took offense to Davidson’s blocking and threw a closed fist punch in front of an official, leading to his ejection from the game.
While Buffalo should hope to never see Davidson punt a football or Ray Davis attempt a kick in a meaningful game, it is nice to have players who provide some skilled variability and can step in when emergencies do happen. Regular punter Brad Robbins isn’t expected to be sidelined past tonight and was holding for extra points in this contest and should resume his duties when the Bills start the seasons against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football.