The Broncos will be in search of a new punter after Riley Dixon signs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
According to NFL Network lead insider Ian Rapoport, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have signed former Broncos punter Riley Dixon to a two-year, $6 million dollar deal.
Punter news! #Broncos P Riley Dixon is going to the #Bucs, as they’ve agreed to terms, sources say. He gets a 2-year, $6M. pic.twitter.com/AWqN15ZapN
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 11, 2025
9NEWS Denver’s Mike Klis reported the Broncos opened contract talks with Dixon Monday morning and continued with them throughout the day, but they couldn’t reach a deal. Now, Dixon will leave the Broncos for a second time and head to Tampa to punt for the Bucs.
This is the second key special teams specialist leaving the Broncos this offseason. Core special teamer Tremon Smith signed with the Texans in free agency, linebacker Justin Strnad remains a free agent, and now Dixon is leaving for the Bucs. The Broncos did re-sign long snapper, but outside of him and kicker Wil Lutz, the Broncos special teams unit will look a bit different next season, especially with newly hired Darren Rizzi running the show.
Dixon was average for the Broncos last season. According to Andrew Mason, Dixon was 10th in net average, 16th in touchback percentage, 15th in percent of punts inside the 20, and 22nd in gross punting average. So, he was not a weakness, but he also was not a strength.
We’ll see what the Broncos do from here. Some of the free agent punters include Bryan Anger, Johnny Hekker, Sam Martin, and Ryan Stonehouse(restricted free agent). They could also go the draft route, see what the UFL has, or even go the undrafted route. Hopefully, the Broncos can get a punter who can take advantage of the Mile High air and flip the field consistently.