The Buffalo Bills had one long snapper for eight years, as Garrison Sanborn held down the position from 2009-2016. However, in 2017, the team parted ways with Sanborn and turned over the gig to an undrafted free agent from LSU.
In our latest installment of “90 players in 90 days,” we give some press to a player who is only noticed when he doesn’t do his job well.
Name: Reid Ferguson
Number: 69
Position: LS
Height/Weight: 6’2” 244 lbs.
Age: 24
Experience: 2
College: LSU
Draft: Joined the Buffalo Bills as a UDFA in 2016
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Ferguson enters the second year of a 2 year, $1.02 million contract signed in 2016. He will count $555,000 against the 2018 salary cap.
2017 Recap: The Bills enjoyed a solid year on special teams, as neither Colton Schmidt nor Stephen Hauschka had a kick blocked. Hauschka was 29-for-33 on field goals, and Schmidt averaged 44.7 yards per punt. How does this relate to Ferguson? If he does his job, then the guys who do the kicking should be able to do theirs well—and seeing as they did, we can assume that Ferguson did well.
Positional outlook: Ferguson is the only long snapper on the current roster, so barring an injury or a downturn in performance, he will open the 2018 season as the Bills’ long snapper once again.
2018 Offseason: In April, Ferguson lobbied Congress for diabetes funding. His brother, Blake, was diagnosed with Type I diabetes as a 13-year old, so the issue is one that is personal for Ferguson.
2018 season outlook: If it isn’t broken, there’s no sense in fixing it. Ferguson has been a solid long snapper, so there is no need to replace him, especially given the combination of his effectiveness and his low cap number.