Redskins Sign Long Snapper

On Friday, the Redskins reported that the team had signed free agent long snapper Nick Sundberg to a reserve/futures contract.

Okay, maybe not exactly earth shattering news, but it’s January!

Every Redskin fan knows that the Redskins have venerable long snapper Ethan Albright, and have since 2001, but he is again a free agent come March. Will he re-sign? If he does, then Sundburg could just be camp fodder; Albright is as good as it gets at the position, and has been for pretty much his entire 16-year career.

Nick was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Carolina Panthers in 2009, but was cut before the season started. He was picked up by the Ravens and placed on their practice squad for the last two games of the season.

He played 52 consecutive games at long snapper for the California Bears, where he started as a true freshman.

He went to high school at North Canyon High in Phoenix, Arizona and was the football team’s captain, as well as participating in both track and wrestling. Sundburg credits the offensive line coach his senior year – Ben Bernard – as the guy who helped him learn his trade, “He basically told me that if I wanted to go on, I could, I just needed to take it more seriously and work with him, snap five days a week, 150 to 200 balls a day, all year long. There was no such thing as a Spring Break to him.”

Sundburg had to hone his craft in a school gym because of the oppressing heat of the Arizona desert – he would sink baskets snapping the ball from half-court. When at Cal, he would line up 10 balls across the 10-yard line at Memorial Stadium – he could hit the goal post with every one. In fact, he can snap a ball FORTY yards and can even hit receivers in stride as they’re running their routes.

Could Sundburg be the next Ethan Albright in Washington?