The Packers signed veteran client Brett Goode today and he will compete with another client, rookie Derek Hart. Goode was an unrestricted free agent and had a workout with the Jets last week before signing with the Packers. Goode enters his 10th NFL season and has been the snapper in Green Bay from 2008-2016.
This off-season, the Saints signed street free agent Jesse Schmitt, rookie Chase Dominguez and veteran Thomas Gafford to replace Justin Drescher. Schmitt was waived prior to training camp and Dominguez and Gafford were reportedly inconsistent in training camp. As a result, the Saints brought Drescher back today and cut Dominguez and Gafford.
Drescher spent the 2010-2016 seasons with the Saints and snapped in 102 games. He was an unrestricted free agent and available for the Saints to bring back despite the efforts to replace him.
The Jaguars had the first significant injury involving a snapper as veteran Carson Tinker is out for the season with an ACL injury. Tinker suffered the injury in practice yesterday. The Jaguars quickly signed former Colts snapper Matt Overton today to take Tinker’s place.
There have already been some snapping transactions during the first week of training camp. Today, the Seahawks waived Nolan Frese, leaving Tyler Ott as the remaining snapper. The Raiders recently added Andrew East, who was with them in training camp last year, to compete with veteran Jon Condo.
Another situation to watch is in Jacksonville, where snapper Carson Tinker suffered an apparent knee injury today in practice.
The FCS Preseason All-American teams were announced today and are always mentioned here since they include long snappers on each of the three teams. This year, senior James Fisher of North Dakota State made the First Team after being the Third Team selection last year. Hunter Winstead a senior from Liberty is the Second Team snapper, while Danny Garza of Houston Baptist, also a senior, is Third Team.
Training camps are underway this week in the NFL and just six teams will have a second snapper in camp. Client Jimmy Landes, who was drafted by the Lions last year, was one of the last snappers to be waived prior to training camp.
Below is a quick look at each team’s snapping situation and contract expiration date for every snapper currently under contract to an NFL team.
2017 Long Snapping Chart Training Camp
With NFL training camps about to open, some teams are still making roster moves. When that happens, the second long snapper is often at risk, as was the case with the Raiders. Anthony Kukwa, who signed with Oakland after the Draft, was waived yesterday leaving veteran Jon Condo as the only snapper on the roster.
Just six teams (Cowboys, Dolphins, Saints, Eagles, Steelers and Seahawks) have two snappers on the roster heading into training camp. With Kukwa’s departure, the only snappers remaining on rosters from this year’s Draft class are Colin Holba (Steelers), Thomas Hennessy (Colts), Chase Dominguez (Saints).
Phil Steele’s 2017 College Football Preview is on newsstands now and remains the best source for college football information. Steele always includes long snappers on his Preseason All-American Team and his previews of all FBS schools.
This year’s team features Ike Powell of Auburn as the First Team snapper. Wesley Horky (Oklahoma) is Second Team, while Dan Godsil (Indiana) and CJ Keller (Stanford) are the Third and Fourth, respectively. All are seniors, except for Godsil, who is a junior.
The 2017 CFL regular season got underway last night, so it is a good time to take a look at the starting snapper for each club. There is only one change since last season’s opening day starters, as Louis-Phillippe Bourassa is now the snapper for Ottawa. Jorgen Hus of Saskatchewan and Chad Rempel of Winnipeg are the only snappers with NFL training camp experience.
British Columbia 40 Mike Benson
Calgary 54 Pierre-Luc Caron
Edmonton 53 Ryan King
Hamilton 47 Aaron Crawford
Montreal 37 Martin Bedard
Ottawa 50 Louis-Phillippe Bourassa
Saskatchewan 46 Jorgen Hus
Toronto 58 Jake Reinhart
Winnipeg 46 Chad Rempel
With mini-camps ended, there have been a few snapping transactions this week. Client Jimmy Landes, who was drafted by the Lions last year, was waived leaving Don Muhlbach for another season in Detroit. The Saints waived Tyler Schmitt and added veteran Thomas Gafford, who will compete with rookie Chase Dominguez.
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