Former Buffalo Bills long snapper Garrison Sanborn on the other sideline this week

The Buffalo Bills got a new long snapper this year in the form of Reid Ferguson, who has performed his job well through five weeks of the NFL season. However, in order to bring him in, they had to cut ties with longtime Bills specialist, Garrison Sanborn. Sanborn is currently the long snapper for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Buffalo’s opponent this week.

Sanborn signed with the Bills as a undrafted free agent out of Florida State in 2009 and quickly became one of the few points of consistency on the team, rarely snapping an errant ball. His consistency kept him around the organization for eight seasons and made him become one of the highest-paid long snappers in the NFL.

Head coach Sean McDermott has a reputation for bringing in “his” guys, like cutting running back Johnathan Williams in favor of Mike Tolbert. Sanborn, 32, is getting old and probably doesn’t have much time left in the league. Perhaps McDermott saw an opportunity to get a younger long snapper in the building or maybe he just wanted someone who cost less.