Joe Cardone is the Rams’ long snapper for the next two years after being signed by LA this past offseason, and he’s good, very good. So good, in fact, that he’s now the third-highest-paid long snapper in the league. While a salary of $1.725 million doesn’t seem like a whole lot in a sport where almost all players are making over a million dollars a year, it’s a raise of more than $300,000, or about 20%, and it will surely impact the Cardone family.
The position of long snapper is about as glamorous
in football terms as is the bass player in the house band at your local bar. Nobody notices them until they make a mistake. In fact, I’d be willing to bet 98% of all football fans couldn’t name two long snappers in the league, and probably 97% couldn’t name the one playing on their own team, but they’re important.
CARDONE’S JOURNEY
Joe Cardone’s father was a Navy man, and he instilled many Navy traits in the young man, such as discipline and the belief that being on time means arriving at least fifteen minutes early. Joe’s dad was also his junior football coach. They’d arrive at practices a half hour early, his dad teaching him the finer points, as he knew them, of kicking, punting, and long snapping because he wasn’t sure if his son would grow to be large enough for many other positions in the game. But even after a growth spurt, Joe decided to refine his LS skills. Says Joe:
“I was very fortunate that my father had the foresight to teach me a specialty,” “I probably didn’t have the genetics to be in the NFL unless I learned something different. I probably didn’t have the genetics to be a college football player, to be honest. Fortunately, I got a good head start.”
Following in his father’s footsteps, Joe attended the Naval Academy, where they encouraged him to focus on his LS game, and by the time he was ready to enter the draft, he’d bulked up to 240 pounds.
At the Naval Academy, you don’t think there’s going to be this opportunity. You’re not planning on it. I was planning on being an officer and preparing for that. My thought process was, ‘Hey, if I can prepare to be the best Navy football player I can be and it turns into something bigger, then, that’s a win. At least I’m doing my job here.'”
Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots selected Cardone in the 5th round of the 2015 draft, making Joe one of the few LS in history to be drafted. They liked him so much that they kept him on the team for 10 years. During that time, he played in four Super Bowls. When they released him, the Dolphins quickly signed him to a one-year deal. Perhaps they should have signed him to a longer deal, but the Rams are happy he didn’t.
WHY THE RAMS NEEDED HIM
As I said above, the only time you notice a LS is when they screw up. Sadly, that was the case with Alex Ward, who started last season as the Rams’ LS. I believe this was the turning point for Ward:
By the time Ward lifts his head, the entire defensive line is behind him! If it weren’t the Rams, you’d have to laugh. Rams head coach Sean McVay wasn’t laughing, and Jake McQuaide was hired to finish out the year, and with his 39th birthday coming up, I’m not sure he was even being considered for this season.
Aside from blocking well, Cardone also gets involved in coverage better than most long snappers. While most will average one tackle a year, usually assisted, Cardone has had 5 over the past two seasons and even forced a fumble.
It’s that type of play that gets you noticed by the GOAT. Belichick was asked once if he’d consider removing the long snapper position altogether and just cross-training a player at another position on the team. Belichick’s response went 1,500 words. Not exactly the concise Belichick we know, he finished with:
“I mean, it’s a great question,” Belichick ultimately concluded. “There would be so much value in a player that could do a couple of things and save a roster spot, but I would say there are so few of those players available … I’m not saying it’s impossible or unheard of, but it’s a lot to ask, and that’s why you don’t see it very much.”
Belichick saw that a team absolutely needs the LS specialist; now Rams fans will get a chance to.
I mean, if you notice him.
