Dolphins take advantage of Patriots’ difficult decision and reunite long-time starter with a familiar face on the roster
The Miami Dolphins raised an eyebrow or two with the release of veteran long snapper Blake Ferguson on Friday. Just one day later, we know why. The Dolphins reached an agreement with veteran free agent long snapper Joe Cardona on Friday, per ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. The move is a notable one because it […]
The Miami Dolphins raised an eyebrow or two with the release of veteran long snapper Blake Ferguson on Friday. Just one day later, we know why.
The Dolphins reached an agreement with veteran free agent long snapper Joe Cardona on Friday, per ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter.
The move is a notable one because it indeed signaled an end of an era for the New England Patriots in Foxboro. Cardona, who lost his job with the Patriots this week in favor of 2025 seventh round draft pick Julian Ashby out of Vanderbilt, was the final player on the Patriots' roster who was part of their Super Bowl run. Cardona was drafted by the Patriots in the fifth round of the 2015 draft and was a part of New England teams that appeared in three Super Bowls and won two of them (LI and LIII).
A to Z Sports Patriots beat writer Sophie Weller had the following to say about Cardona's release:
Eliot Wolf was asked about the decision to draft Ashby and what that meant for Cardona's future following Round 3 on Saturday. However, he didn't give anything away.
"Julian Ashby was a player that we liked. We felt like he was the best long snapper in the draft," Wolf told reporters. "Through some of the conversations that we had, we felt like he might not be someone that would be available post-draft.
"Again, wanting to add some competition to the roster, we decided to pull the trigger there late."
But, instead of competition, the spot is now Ashby's, who will have an entire offseason to work as the team's only long snapper.
Now, Cardona is back with one former teammate who he used to work closely with – punter Jake Bailey. The duo spent four seasons together in Foxboro from 2019-2022 and obviously interacted quite a bit given their roles. Bailey is going to be in a tight battle with former Titans punter Ryan Stonehouse for the punting job in training camp.
As such, we'll see in July and August if the Cardona and Bailey connection will resume for another season.
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