The competition that Houser is facing this season is a little trickier than years past. Backup defensive end Rob Ninkovich was a 5th round draft pick for the Saints in 2006 and he also has long snapping ability. Ninkovich was released in 2007 and had a stint with the Miami Dolphins before coming back to the team that drafted him last year. The advantage Ninkovich has, first and foremost, is that he can play a position besides long snapper and help the team in other areas, so the Saints wouldn’t have to sacrifice a roster spot on a guy who exclusively long snaps (like Houser) if they gave Ninkovich the job. While Houser has beaten out Ninkovich for the job before, this season is different because starting defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant are both suspended for the first 4 games due to a failed drug test (story here). The Saints are thus extremely thin at defensive end early in the season and will need all the depth they can find. Even if Ninkovich gets beaten out at long snapper, he’ll still have a chance to make the squad through the first 4 games at end. The danger for Houser is that if the competition is close enough in training camp between the two long snappers, the coaching staff may opt to give the job to Ninkovich and take advantage of his versatility in case they get any thinner at end. Houser will need to prove that he’s that much better as a long snapper, though admittedly it’s something he’s more than capable of showing.
Should be interesting to see how this plays out. One thing is for sure: should the Saints release Kevin Houser, he will not take long to land another job as an NFL team’s long snapper. He is that good, and the Saints would be making a mistake letting him go.
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