Every NFL team has started training camp and two teams immediately made changes at the snapping position.
Nick Moore of the Ravens will miss the season with a torn achilles suffered during an off-season workout and rookie Matt Hembrough of the Cardinals was also placed on injured reserve with a back injury.
The Ravens signed veteran Tyler Ott after also working out Ryan Langan and Shane Griffin. Langan and Griffin both snapped in the USFL this season.
The Cardinals signed Jack Coco, who spent last season snapping for the Packers. The Cardinals also worked out another USFL snapper, Jordan Ober, before signing Coco.
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A few NFL teams open training camp today with their rookies reporting. With camps opening, seven NFL teams have two snappers on the roster.
The Steelers became the latest team to add a snapper after signing Rex Sunahara late last month. Sunahara has previous experience with Pittsburgh as a practice squad member at the end of the 2021 season.
The other teams that have two snappers heading into training camp are the Cardinals, Lions, Packers, Patriots, Giants and Buccaneers.
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Organized team activities conclude next week in the NFL and two teams have tinkered with the snapping position.
The Cardinal re-signed veteran Aaron Brewer. Brewer’s season was cut short in December last season but he is now recovered.
With the addition of Brewer, the Cardinals waived Joe Fortunato who signed a reserve/future contract in January. Rookie free agent Matt Hembrough is also on the Arizona roster.
The Steelers have tried out a number of snappers and could add one for training camp. Antonio Ortiz, Jack Coco, Robert Soderholm, Rex Sunahara and Scott Meyer all worked out for Pittsburgh the last few weeks.
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With each team conducting rookie mini-camp the past two weekends, the long snapping landscape in the NFL is becoming a bit more clear.
First, the Jets signed veteran Thomas Hennessy to a new four-year contract earlier this month. Hennessy would have been an unrestricted free agent after this upcoming NFL season.
With respect to the NFL Draft, a total of six snappers signed undrafted free agent contracts. One, Broughton Hatcher from Old Dominion, was signed by the Packers after a mini-camp tryout. With his signing, the Packers waived its snapper from last season Jack Coco who was also signed following a tryout. Hatcher will compete with the recently-signed Matt Orzech.
A special mention is also warranted for Nick Boyle, who spent 8 seasons as a tight end with the Ravens and tried out with the Steelers as a long snapper this weekend.
There are also a number of unsigned veteran free agent snappers that may get calls as training camps approach or during the season. They are Josh Harris, Beau Brinkley, Matt Overton, Aaron Brewer, Tyler Ott and Carson Tinker.
Below is a chart summarizing the six snappers who signed contracts and 14 tryouts since the NFL Draft. If any tryouts were missed, please let me know at kevingold@longsnap.com.
Three snappers from the 2023 NFL Draft class have earned rookie mini-camp tryouts. The snappers are Brady Weas (Texans), Tommy Zozus (Jaguars) and Jake Hoffman (Chiefs).
Another snapper, Evan Deckers, earned a contract with the Buccaneers and became the fifth one to sign a contract so far.
Decker and the three tryout snappers join the five snappers, shown below, that earned contracts or, in one case, a tryout that were known as of Saturday evening.
With rookie mini-camps occurring this coming weekend and the following weekend, it is possible that more tryouts opportunities are coming.
No long snapper was selected in the NFL Draft but at least a few have signed contracts or earned a tryout after the Draft.
While there may be more signings and tryouts announced over the next few days, here is what I have learned this evening, although not all are confirmed.
The NFL Draft gets started tomorrow but Saturday is the key day for long snappers. While it is unclear if a long snapper will be selected this year, the Rams and Seahawks do not have a snapper under contract, making it more likely that one or two snappers are chosen.
In recent weeks, the Cowboys addressed their snapping need by signing former Raider Trent Sieg. The Rams conducted a recent tryout with Tyler Ott, Brady Sorenson and Logan Klusman but none were signed. Scott Daly signed his exclusive rights contract with the Lions and he will compete with Jake McQuaide.
Stay tuned to Longsnap.com Saturday evening for all the long snapping updates from the Draft.
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The reboot of the USFL is back for a second season and regular season games resumed last week. With eight teams, the USFL provides opportunities for long snappers to get more exposure and game file.
Two USFL snappers from last season, Mitchell Fraboni and Tucker Addington, each made their NFL debuts last year.
Below are the long snappers for each USFL team for 2023:
Birmingham Ryan Langan
Houston Ross Reiter
Memphis Ryan DiSalvo
Michigan Shane Griffin
New Jersey Jordan Ober
New Orleans Turner Bernard
Philadelphia Ryan Navarro
Pittsburgh Riley Lovingood
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Veteran free agency is entering its second week and, while snappers rarely switch teams, that is not the case this year.
First, Joe Cardona signed a new four-year deal to remain in New England and Andrew DePaola signed a new three-year deal in Minnesota. Another veteran, Casey Kreiter, did a one-year deal to remain a Giant and Nick Moore inked a new two-year deal with the Ravens.
Three snappers are changing teams. Former Rams snapper Matt Orzech signed a three-year deal with the Packers. Jacob Bobenmoyer, who was not tendered as a restricted free agent by the Broncos, instead signed a three-year deal with the Raiders. After signing Bobenmoyer, the Raiders released Trent Sieg who is free to sign elsewhere. Finally, former Cowboys snapper Jake McQuaide had tryout with the Lions and signed to a one-year deal. The Lions also have Scott Daly on the roster, who was tendered as an exclusive rights free agent, but not yet signed his contract.
Below are the six unsigned snappers as of this morning:
UNRESTRICTED (6)
Aaron Brewer (Cardinals)
Beau Brinkley (Falcons)
Clark Harris (Bengals)
Tyler Ott (Seahawks)
Matt Overton (Cowboys)
Carson Tinker (Seahawks)
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While there is usually double-digit changes at the special teams coaching position in the NFL, there will be much more stability for the 2023 NFL season. Some new head coaches retained the existing special teams coach that helped maintained stability.
Below are the four new special teams coaches for 2023. Bubba Ventrone moves from the Colts to the Browns and Brian Mason moves from the college ranks to the Colts. Ben Kotwica and Chase Blackburn return to lead the special teams with the Broncos and Rams respectively and each have recent NFL experience with special teams.
CLEVELAND Bubba Ventrone
DENVER Ben Kotwica
INDIANAPOLIS Brian Mason
RAMS Chase Blackburn
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