Link: Is There Life After Dearth?
Rich Cimini (amongst others) speculates that the Jets signing of former Chiefs Long Snapper Tanner Purdum could mean that the James Dearth “era” is at an end.
Dearth was the first signing under Herman Edwards and had been with the Jets for nine seasons, serving as their long snapper and occasionally as an emergency tight end. Although he only caught three passes, all in 2001, one was a crucial touchdown in a come-from-behind 15-14 win over the Bengals. The usually dependable Dearth did have a few bad snaps this season, notably against the Falcons in a 10-7 loss which almost cost the Jets a playoff place.
He is now an unrestricted free agent and the Jets could potentially benefit by being able to sign another unrestricted free agent to replace him, if he is picked up by another team. However, it’s entirely possible that they will still consider bringing him back and have just signed Purdum as a fall-back option in case anyone goes after Dearth.
The 25 year old Purdum spent last season on the Chiefs practice squad.
Hat tip to cling and Walter Adams for bringing this to our attention.
14 Responses to Link: Is There Life After Dearth?
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J-Kay says:
I’ve thought we could definitely do better than Dearth for a while now
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JoeMustGo says:
Can’t afford to tie up a roster spot on someone who plays such a limited role.
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WOJF says:
Big salary, vet minimum with many years in the league. Didn’t he cost them a big game down the stretch last year?
Never understood why Mangold, or the back up center could not long snap.
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When you start losing games because of snapping problems……making a change might be needed…..but its not the easiest thing to replace
In saying that I believe almost every team dedicates a roster spot to a long snapper…..if he can do more great but I think its pretty common than LS has one job….just snap the ball correctly on punts and FG’s
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head_coach says:
this isnt news
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Bent says:
Wise – he was basically earning the veteran’s minimum.
You can’t survive without a specialist in this role. In a game last year, the Steelers lost their long snapper and it cost them a game as the replacement had a costly bad snap on a punt. Dearth has been very reliable for years. A shotgun snap doesn’t need to be 100% accurate because a QB can reach out for the ball without it disrupting the play. The margin of error for a punt not to be blocked or a holder to get the laces pointed in the right direction is much smaller.
The long snapper doesn’t seem so important until they cost you a game and, yes, Dearth let the Jets down once or twice this year, but since 2001, he’s been chucking bullseyes with more regularity than most of the guys around the league.
Maybe it is time to move on, but Dearth has had an important role, so they better make sure whoever does it next year is reliable.
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Todd Alster says:
James dearth is the heart and sole of tht team… the jets would be no wear with out him he is an aamzing snapper with out him feely wouldnt be nearly as good as he was dis season. dearth shoulda won mvp manning… he should be in the hall of fame for the best long snapper ever… jets should spend more than 15 mil per season for this guy he can do it all
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ummmm I could probably long snap all you do is throw the ball through your legs wow
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frankiepapa says:
Dearth has been pretty solid during his tenure here. He did struggle late in the season but he did lose his mother and that could certainly affected him to some degree
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Colin Waters says:
Tanner Purdum is a fine long snapper. He was scouted a few times at his days back at Baker University where I was did a feature on him, and also had the privilege of watching him play and being his sports information director.
And if anyone cares to know Baker is also where Packers’ head coach Mike McCarthy played back in the 80s.
Having Tanner is just another reason to love the Jets.
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@ JoeMustGo,
“Can’t afford to tie up a roster spot on someone who plays such a limited role.”
Just wait until your snapper turns to ****. Also long snapping is the matter between a blocked punt of field goal and takes a special person to do so.
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brian311 says:
can this kid from KC do anything else in addition to snapping?
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NorCal says:
Dearth is an excellent long snapper. Maybe he did have one or possibly two bad snaps this year. But if my memory serves me correctly, those are the only one or two bad snaps this guy has had his entire nine years with the team. Every team has a dedicated long snapper. Purdum is a practice squad player, so it would be hard to say how he would do, but a little competition is not a bad thing, and might serve to re-focus Dearth. Also, I had no idea his mother died sometime this season.
No fan should know the name of the long snapper on their team. If they do, then he must have messed up a play.