Two former Alabama players drafted by Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL

Thomas Fletcher and Chris Owens were both drafted by the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL.

Alabama fans were able to see former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron join the St. Louis BattleHawks of the XFL. Now, two other Tide alumni will team up for the Seattle Sea Dragons. Long snapper Thomas Fletcher and offensive tackle Chris Owens were both drafted by the newly-established team. The two were once teammates at the University of Alabama.

Owens spent six seasons with the Tide. The Texas native played every position along the offensive line. Last season, he started 12 games at right tackle while making one start at center. His experience and leadership helped the Tide reach the College Football Playoff.

As for Fletcher, he spent four seasons in Tuscaloosa as the team’s starting long snapper. He was eventually drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He went on to spend one season with the organization before being waived in August of this year.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow both of their careers at the professional level.

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Broncos add tight end to practice squad, make decision at long snapper

The Broncos signed TE Dalton Keene to their practice squad and cut LS Joe Fortunato. That means Mitchell Fraboni will snap this week.

The Denver Broncos made two practice squad moves on Saturday.

First, the Broncos signed second-year tight end Dalton Keene, who was selected by the New England Patriots in the third round of the 2020 NFL draft out of Virginia Tech.

Keene (6-4, 251 pounds) wasn’t able to live up to his high draft status with the Patriots, playing in just six games as a rookie before missing the entire 2021 season with a knee injury.

After failing to make New England’s 53-man roster this summer, Keene spent time on the practice squad of the Philadelphia Eagles.

In six career games, Keene has hauled in three receptions for 16 yards. He will now give the Broncos some more depth at tight end.

To make room for Keene on the 16-player practice squad, Denver made a second move and released long snapper Joe Fortunato.

Fortunato just signed earlier this week after the team lost Jacob Bobenmoyer to a hand/wrist injury. The Broncos also signed long snapper Mitchell Fraboni, who is now set to replace Bobenmoyer for the next three games.

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Broncos sign long snapper Mitchell Fraboni to practice squad after losing Jacob Bobenmoyer

After losing Jacob Bobenmoyer to an injury, the Broncos signed long snapper Mitchell Fraboni to their practice squad.

After losing long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer for at least four weeks to a wrist/hand injury, the Denver Broncos brought in 10 long snappers for tryouts this week.

On Monday, the Broncos hosted Turner Bernard, Hunter Bradley, Ryan DiSalvo, Kyle Nelson and Mitchell Fraboni for tryouts.

After that, the team brought in Thomas Fletcher, Joe Fortunato, Brian Khoury, Garrison Sanborn and Rex Sunahara for tryouts on Tuesday.

Fraboni (6-2, 223 pounds) won the tryout and he was signed to the team’s practice squad on Tuesday. He will presumably be tasked with filling in for Bobenmoyer for the next three games.

Denver can elevate Fraboni to the game-day roster up to three times without him having to clear waivers to revert back to the practice squad after each game. That could happen over the next three games, and then the Broncos will have a bye four weeks from now. Bobenmoyer will be eligible to return from injured reserve after the team’s bye week.

Bobenmoyer, 25, has been the team’s long snapper since 2020, starting in 38-straight games before his injury.

Story update: Denver is also expected to sign Joe Fortunato to the practice squad, according to KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis. That would give the Broncos two options for their game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.

To make room for Fraboni and Fortunato on the practice squad, Denver released wide receivers Darrius Shepherd and Vyncint Smith.

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Report: Broncos long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer to miss ‘extended time’ with injury

Broncos long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer is expected to miss “extended time” with a hand/wrist injury.

The injuries just keep coming for the Denver Broncos.

After losing left tackle Garett Bolles and cornerback Ronald Darby to season-ending injuries last week, the Broncos have now also lost their long snapper for multiple games.

Denver long snapper Jacob Bobenmoyer will miss “extended time” with a hand/wrist injury, according to a report from KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis.

Bobenmoyer has been the team’s long snapper since 2020 and before suffering this injury, he played in 38-straight games.

The Broncos brought in nine long snappers for tryouts during the offseason: Ross Reiter, Tucker Addington, Adam Higuera, Antonio Ortiz, Cameron Kaye, Kameron Canaday, Joe Fortunato, Ryan Navarro and Matt Overton. It wouldn’t be surprising to see one of those players signed when Denver places Bobenmoyer on injured reserve.

Elsewhere on the injury front, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson flew to Los Angeles on Friday to get an injection in his right throwing shoulder. Wilson is dealing with a partially torn lat, but he plans to play in Week 6.

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Cowboys lose Jake McQuaide for season; reportedly sign Pro Bowl long snapper as replacement

The 12-year veteran had never missed an NFL start, but a torn triceps will cost the Cowboys long snapper the remainder of the ’22 season. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Just as several high-profile Cowboys are making comebacks from the trainers’ room, the injury bug has bitten the club in a place that most don’t think twice about.

The Cowboys will be without the services of long snapper Jake McQuaide for the rest of the season, the club announced Tuesday. The 12-year veteran suffered a torn triceps at the end of Sunday’s win over Washington and will leave the Cowboys searching for a new specialist to take over the role.

McQuaide had long been a favorite of Cowboys special teams coordinator John Fassel. The two reunited in Dallas in 2021 when the club chose not to re-sign L.P. Ladouceur after 16 seasons in which he never missed a game or botched a snap.

McQuiade had been just as reliable; he’d never missed an NFL start before being placed on season-ending injured reserve with this injury. He’s set to become an unrestricted free agent once the 2022 campaign is over.

The Cowboys worked out four long snappers on Tuesday, according to the team website, just five days before a meeting with the Super Bowl champion Rams in Los Angeles. Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network is reporting that the Cowboys are signing journeyman and Pro Bowler Matt Overton to the practice squad; the team may even elect to sign more than one long snapper as added insurance.

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Seahawks add Carson Tinker to roster, place Tyler Ott on injured reserve

The Seahawks made a trio of roster moves, including signing LS Carson Tinker to the active roster and placing Tyler Ott on injured reserve.

The Seattle Seahawks announced a number of roster moves ahead of Wednesday’s practice. Seattle signed long snapper Carson Tinker to the 53-man roster and placed long snapper Tyler Ott on the injured reserve.

Tinker had been elevated to the active roster ahead of Monday’s game against the Broncos as a result of the injury Ott had suffered to his shoulder. With Ott headed for surgery and the IR, the move was expected.

In addition, the Seahawks re-signed safety Scott Nelson to the practice squad following his release last week to make room for the Tinker addition.

The Seahawks return to the practice field Wednesday afternoon to kick off their work week in preparation to face the 49ers.

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Broncos brought in 5 more long snappers for tryouts

It seems like the Broncos are looking for a fallback option in case anything happens to Jacob Bobenmoyer during the season.

The Denver Broncos clearly want to have a backup plan at long snapper.

After bringing in four long snappers for tryouts last week, the team hosted five more specialists for tryouts on Wednesday this week, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.

Denver worked out Ross Reiter, Tucker Addington, Adam Higuera, Antonio Ortiz and Cameron Kaye. At the time of this writing, none of the nine long snappers who worked out for the team over the last two weeks have been signed.

The only long snapper currently on the Broncos’ roster is Jacob Bobenmoyer. He has a reasonable salary of $895,000 this season and he’s played well over the last two years, so Bobenmoyer’s job is probably safe.

The fact that Denver hasn’t signed any of these tryout players might be a sign that the team is merely looking for a fallback option in case anything happens to Bobenmoyer during the season. The Broncos might also be looking ahead to the future as Bobenmoyer will become a (restricted) free agent in 2023.

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Packers release LS Steven Wirtel, waive WR Osirus Mitchell

The Packers released long snapper Steven Wirtel and waived wide receiver Osirus Mitchell with an injury. 

The Green Bay Packers made a roster move at both long snapper and wide receiver ahead of Wednesday’s training camp practice.

According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, the Packers released long snapper Steven Wirtel and waived wide receiver Osirus Mitchell with an injury.

The moves clear two spots on the 90-man roster. One spot is going to running back Dexter Williams.

Wirtel’s attempt to keep the long snapper job ended in failure after only two weeks of camp. He replaced Hunter Bradley and was the team’s long snapper in nine regular-season games and one playoff game in 2021. The Packers still have rookie Jack Coco on the roster at long snapper, and an addition could be coming – the team worked out long snappers Mitchell Fraboni and Antonio Ortiz on Tuesday.

Much is left to be decided at a key specialist spot with a month to go before the season opener at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Mitchell, who starred in the USFL, has been dealing with a quad injury and hasn’t practiced in a week. If unclaimed on waivers, Mitchell would revert to injured reserve in Green Bay and could depart later via an injury settlement.

Mitchell’s exit leaves 11 wide receivers left on the roster, although rookie Christian Watson (knee) remains on the PUP list to start camp.

The Packers open the preseason on Friday in San Francisco.

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Packers’ long snapper to start 2022 might not be on current roster

Jack Coco and Steven Wirtel are competing to be the Packers long snapper, but it’s certainly possible the Week 1 long snapper isn’t on the roster right now.

The long-snapper position is once again a big question mark for the Green Bay Packers. 

Last summer, Hunter Bradley, a former draft pick by the Packers, battled inconsistency and was eventually replaced during the season by Steven Wirtel, who had been on the practice squad.

Unfortunately, that move didn’t spark any improvements. Wirtel was PFF’s third-lowest graded long-snapper last season, as he too, was wildly inconsistent.

To some degree, the struggles snapping did play a factor in Mason Crosby’s down season, and I’m sure, as you all remember, it was Wirtel who San Francisco’s Jordan Willis ran through to block that punt in the playoffs.

Joining Wirtel in training camp this summer is undrafted rookie Jack Coco. Through 12 practices, it would appear that Coco has a leg up on Wirtel for the starting job based on playing time with the starting field goal unit; however, neither has performed all that well overall.

Coco also comes to Green Bay with no long-snapping experience on punts during his time at Georgia Tech. He was used strictly on field goals and extra points.

Given these ups and downs that both players have faced, it’s very possible that the Packers’ long-snapper for the 2022 season isn’t on the roster yet.

For one, the team worked out two long-snappers on Tuesday, Mitchell Fraboni and Antonio Ortiz. Also, just last week, when speaking with reporters, GM Brian Gutekunst mentioned that Wirtel and Coco are not only competing with each other but also against any long-snappers around the league who end up getting cut.

This isn’t an abnormal practice when it comes to specialists; in fact, we saw it last season when the Packers traded for Corey Bojorquez just before the regular season began.

As far as who might be available, well, that’s the million-dollar question, along with, can they provide the Packers with an actual upgrade? Something that has eluded this team at the long-snapper position over the years.

Despite the Packers’ struggles to retain an effective long-snapper, as Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated wrote, the team has had several come through 1265 Lombardi Avenue. There are currently five long-snappers on NFL rosters who were at one point members of the Packers.

One team to monitor this summer is the Cincinnati Bengals. Joe Goodberry would recently point out that the Bengals currently have Clark Harris, a former Packer and Pro Bowler, competing with undrafted rookie Cal Adomitis, who Goodberry called the “top long-snapper prospect.”

The upcoming preseason games will provide additional clarity when it comes to whether Wirtel or Coco can be the guy. However, based on what we’ve seen and heard so far, Green Bay’s long snapper for the 2022 season may be outside the building at the moment.

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4 long snappers tried out for the Broncos on Friday

Broncos brought in long snappers Kameron Canaday, Joe Fortunato, Ryan Navarro and Matt Overton for tryouts on Friday.

The Denver Broncos brought in four long snappers for tryouts on Friday, according to the NFL’s transaction wire.

Kameron Canaday, Joe Fortunato, Ryan Navarro and Matt Overton worked out for the team, but as of the time of this writing, none of them have been signed. All four specialists have spent time in the NFL, with Overton owning the most experience (126 games).

Denver’s current long snapper, Jacob Bobenmoyer, has done a fine job over the last two seasons, so the Broncos are probably just looking for candidates to consider down the road in case of injury.

Bobenmoyer is the only long snapper currently on the roster, but special teams coordinator Dwayne Stukes has made it clear that he likes having competition at every position.

“For me personally, I always thought that we should have six specialists in camp, so everybody is competing and nobody says, ‘I have a job, and I’ve made it,'” Stukes said on July 30. “When you put pressure on guys, that’s when you get the best out of guys and that’s what we’re looking for.”

The Broncos’ 90-man offseason roster is full, so if the team makes any signings, they would need to make corresponding roster moves to make room on the roster.

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