Detroit Lions: Bob Quinn Might Just Really Love Long Snappers
By Zac Snyder
Thought Detroit Lions long snapper talk was over when Jimmy Landes went on injured reserve? Think again, because they will work one out this week.
Perhaps the most controversial decision Bob Quinn has made during his short tenure as Detroit Lions general manager was to use a draft pick to select long snapper Jimmy Landes in the 2016 NFL Draft.
As the longest tenured Lions, looking to replace Don Muhlbach, or even just to give him some legitimate competition, wasn’t without merit. But only a handful of long snappers have ever been drafted and Landes never performed well enough to seriously threaten Muhlbach’s job.
The Lions were able to stash Landes on injured reserve (wink, wink), so it wasn’t a totally wasted pick yet, but it’s hard to argue the pick couldn’t have been better used. That’s even more so four weeks into the regular season with the team’s depth issues painful obvious. Regardless, Landes came in but Muhlbach remains.
That was the end of long snapper storylines, right? Maybe not.
According to former Seattle Seahawks long snapper Clint Gresham, he will be working out for the Lions tomorrow. Accompanying his tweet was a video of him practicing a long snap into a hotel trash can.
Getting a couple snaps in before my workout with the Lions tomorrow...anyone need my services? pic.twitter.com/9mbVOCLF2f
— Clint Gresham (@Gresh49) October 6, 2016
Not bad at all, although Landes set a high bar for longsnapper videos during his days at Baylor.
Why the Lions would go to the trouble of bringing Gresham to town and work him out isn’t clear. Muhlbach is healthy as he wasn’t listed on the first injury report of the week released on Wednesday afternoon. Landes may have ended up on IR, but Muhlbach won the long snapper position battle on his own merit.
Maybe long snappers hold a special place in Bob Quinn’s heart. Whatever the case, long snapper talk clearly didn’t end with Landes going on IR and Muhlbach keeping his roster spot.
Next: Who Finishes the Season if Caldwell is Fired?
Gresham was originally signed by the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent in 2010 but was waived and claimed by the Seattle Seahawks that offseason. He went on to spend six seasons with the Seahawks before being cut this past offseason.