Best free-agent addition: Packers solve problems at LS
When A to Z Sports started planning their mid-season pieces, one of the topics was the best free agent addition for each team. Isn't it so Green Bay Packers that it's almost impossible to do this one? And when you go deep to find an answer, he is… a long snapper? But that's exactly what […]
When A to Z Sports started planning their mid-season pieces, one of the topics was the best free agent addition for each team. Isn't it so Green Bay Packers that it's almost impossible to do this one? And when you go deep to find an answer, he is… a long snapper?
But that's exactly what has happened. After years of going all-in financially trying to get another championship in the final years with Aaron Rodgers, the Packers decided to take the foot out of the gas pedal in 2023. Now, they are the second least expensive team in football, and the least expensive offense.
The Packers are generally not very active on the free agent market, but this is especially true this year. The only external additions were safeties Tarvarius Moore (who didn't make the initial 53-man roster), Jonathan Owens (a backup safety), and long snapper Matthew Orzech. Beyond that, it was just street and undrafted free agents.
In all seriousness, the Packers long-snapping job has been a revolving door since the team moved on from Brett Goode after the 2017 season. They tried guys like Joe Fortunato and Steven Wirtel, and general manager Brian Gutekunst even drafted Hunter Bradley in 2018. However, it didn't work either, and the team parted ways with him before the end of his rookie deal.
Wirtel was responsible for a huge mistake against the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 playoffs that cost the Packers a win. Last season, Jack Coco wasn't close to being solid.
That's why the Packers decided to go with an established veteran this time around. Matthew Orzech has been in the NFL since 2019, and he's played regular season games for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans, and Los Angeles Rams. With the Rams, he won the Super Bowl in 2021 — the same year the Packers lost a playoff game because of their special teams.
It's a smart move, because the financial difference between a rookie and the top of the market at long snapper is really small. The Packers signed Orzech to a three-year deal, but the yearly average is slightly above the $1 million mark.
Matthew Orzech was a defensive end in high school, but his passion for baseball, in which he was a pitcher, opened the door for coaches to test him as a long snapper. In college, he went to Azusa Pacific to be a long snapper and blocking tight end.
It's almost impossible for outside observers to analyze long-snapping play. Even PFF, which famously evaluates everyone, doesn't have grades or rankings for long snappers.
But when people don't talk about the long snapper, that's certainly a good sign. Over the past half decade, every Packers fan had been strangely familiar to their long snapper. Mistakes were frequent. With Orzech, this hasn't been a problem anymore, even playing with a rookie kicker and a first-year player as the punter.
Kicking operation and snaps to punt haven't been a problem, and that's as much impact as the Packers could have from their free agent class.
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