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Colts Lock Up Key Specialist to Two-Year Extension
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- Colts Lock Up Key Specialist to Two-Year Extension
(Natalie Reid-Imagn Images)
The Indianapolis Colts signed P Rigoberto Sanchez to a two-year contract extension.
The Indianapolis Colts have secured one of their most important special teams players, signing Rigoberto Sanchez to a two-year contract extension that ties him to the team through 2028.
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According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network , the deal makes Sanchez one of the five highest-paid punters in the NFL.
Sanchez, who turns 32 in less than two weeks, is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. After punting just once through the first three weeks of the season, he set a new Colts franchise record of 44.7 net yards per punt, with his 44 punts ranking as the fewest in his career for a full season.
Sanchez also set a new career best with 50.0% of his punts being downed inside the opponent's 20-yard line. The year prior, Sanchez set another franchise record with 49.7 yards per punt.
According to Colts.com , only 3.9% of Sanchez's punts since 2023 have resulted in touchbacks, which is the best mark in the NFL among punters who have at least 100 punts.
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Sanchez joined the Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2017 out of Hawaii, tasked with competing with free-agent signee Jeff Locke for the monumental task of replacing Pat McAfee. Sanchez ultimately won the job, and while he and McAfee's personalities couldn't be more different, Sanchez has successfully carved out a decade-long career as the Colts' punter and holder.
Sanchez's career hasn't been without adversity, as he had a cancerous tumor removed in 2020, which caused him to miss two games. He also missed the 2022 season after tearing an Achilles during training camp.
In 130 career games with the Colts, Sanchez has punted 481 times for an average of 46.5 yards, a net average of 42.1, with 186 being downed inside the opponent's 20 (38.7%), and 21 touchbacks.
Sanchez also handled kickoff duties for the Colts from 2017-21, doing it sparingly since then, kicking off 420 times in his career for an average return of 20.7 yards.
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In Colts franchise history, Sanchez ranks first in yards per punt, net yards per punt, touchback rate, and inside-20 rate, and fifth in total punts. He's also had just two punts ever blocked, and his 79-yard punt against the San Francisco 49ers in 2021 is the longest in franchise history.
Since 1982, the Colts have enjoyed consistency at the punter position, with Rohn Stark (1982-94), Chris Gardocki (1995-98), Hunter Smith (1999-08), McAfee (2009-16), and Sanchez (2017-Present).
