Appreciating Tanner Purdum of the Jets and Other Long Snappers

You don’t hear much about a player at this position unless he makes a mistake. He doesn’t get any of the credit when things go right. He doesn’t make much money. Most fans don’t know his name. I am talking about the long snapper, an important player on each team.

I don’t want to go overboard here. The long snapper isn’t as important as a quarterback or a pass rusher. He is an essential specialist on each football team the way kickers and punters are, though.

Through the years I have been asked a few times whether a team would be better off finding somebody to handle the long snapping duties who could also provide value in other roles. I have studied the issue and thought about it. On today’s podcast, I will tell you why I think the long snapper has value through his job.

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