Tag: Blake Ferguson

Dolphins sign rookie long snapper Blake Ferguson

Dolphins sign rookie long snapper Blake Ferguson

The Miami Dolphins’ efforts to lock in their 2020 rookie class continue. The Dolphins have been able to sign a majority of their Day 3 selections from last month’s draft — starting with offensive guard Solomon Kindley, followed quickly thereafter by DL Jason Strowbridge and DE Curtis Weaver and now the addition of long-snapper Blake Ferguson.

Ferguson comes to Miami as an unheralded member of the LSU Tigers’ 2019-2020 National Championship team and has already secured the starting long-snapper position over incumbent Taybor Pepper, who was cut in the immediate aftermath of the 2020 NFL Draft in April.

Pepper was the man who unseated long-time snapper John Denney — but Miami did not hesitate to move on after just one season when the opportunity to draft Ferguson arose late in the 2020 draft’s third and final day. Miami will still need to finalize a deal with Malcolm Perry and the team’s six selections on the draft’s first two days, but with five players signed the Dolphins are on the cusp of the halfway mark in negotiations with their 2020 rookie class.

Bears met with a kicker, punter and long snapper at Senior Bowl

The Bears did their due diligence with special teamers during the Senior Bowl last week, meeting with some well-known prospects.

The Bears did their due diligence with special teamers during the Senior Bowl last week, where they met with some prospects that could be future Bears.

The Bears met with Georgia kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, Texas A&M punter Braden Mann and LSU long snapper Blake Ferguson at the Senior Bowl.

While Bears kicker Eddy Pineiro had a solid rookie season — where he connected on 23-of-28 field goals (82.1%) — it looks like the Bears are still looking at kickers.

And in terms of great college kickers, Blakenship is one of the best. He went 66-for-79 for 83.5% on field goals in his career, including 6-for-8 on kicks from 50 and longer. He also made all 174 extra points in college.

Bears punter Pat O’Donnell signed a two-year extension last March, which leaves him under contract through 2021. O’Donnell averaged 44.8 yards per punt, which ranked 26th in the NFL, including a long of 75 yards. O’Donnell also had 26 punts inside the 20-yard line, which ranked 16th in the league.

If the Bears were looking for a replacement for O’Donnell, Mann is a good prospect to watch. In his career with Texas A&M, Mann averaged 49.1 yards per punt, including a career-long of 82 yards.

Chicago has a decision to make at the long snapper position. Patrick Scales is a pending free agent, which means Ferguson could wind up being the most likely target of the three special teamers they met with last week.

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