We’ve looked at two offensive and two defensive training camp battles, so let’s take a minute and look at one on special teams. This one may not interest every Bears fan, but it’ll definitely interest some because the Bears could have an interesting battle at long snapper during training camp.
The Bears have had a little inconsistency at long snapper over the last few years. Not so much on performance, but just on stability. The Bears have gone from Patrick Scales to Scott Daly and now to either Luke
Elkin or Beau Gardner in just a couple of seasons. But the Bears have two young long snappers, and one of these two could establish themselves for the Bears and solidify the position for the next several years.
Let’s start with Elkin, who was brought in last year to compete with Daly. While Daly did earn the roster spot over Elkin, the Bears thought highly enough of Elkin to briefly keep him on the practice squad and brought him back after the season.
Cutting Elkin from the practice squad should not be considered an issue. There really isn’t a reason to keep a second long snapper on the practice squad; those guys can be called up off their sofas pretty easily once they’ve had work with the special teams players. Elkin got to work with Tory Taylor all summer; not only that, but he also played with him at Iowa.
Elkin has a solid long snapper resume for someone just out of college, but it’s not quite as strong as Beau Gardner’s.
Gardner signed with the Bears as an undrafted free agent, and the Bears gave him a solid guarantee. Gardner spent the previous two seasons with the Georgia Bulldogs. Gardner proved to be the best collegiate longsnapper in the country. He was first-team All-SEC in 2024 and was placed on the Patrick Mannelly Award watch list. The award goes to the best long snapper in the country. Elkin was also placed on the watch list his last year at Iowa, but while Elkin never won the award, Gardner brought home the hardware. Gardner was named All-SEC again in 2025, but this time he added first-team All-American as well as the winner of the Patrick Mannelly Award.
As long snappers go, Gardner is considered quite a prize.
Now, at the end of the day, long snappers are long snappers. They are important to the functionality of the special teams; a bad snap can turn a game, but in the end, you pick your best long snapper and release the other one. If Elkin beats out Gardner, Gardner will be released and probably picked up by another team eventually. Elkin briefly spent some time last year on the Raiders’ practice squad, but he got a futures contract with the Bears in January.
If you asked me, I think both these players will be regular long snappers in the league, eventually. But there are only 32 jobs, so sometimes it takes 2 or 3 offseasons for a long snapper to find his place and get consistent work. I think the Bears brought in Gardner with the expectation that he will be the team’s long snapper this season and moving forward. I expect him to win the job, and I think the Bears do as well.
