San Francisco 49ers give veteran player new deal
The 49ers decided to extend one of their veteran players on Saturday
Saturday was a very good day for San Francisco 49ers long snapper Taybor Pepper.
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, the 49ers decided to give Pepper a three-year contract extension that included a $1.5 million signing bonus.
Pepper has been with the 49ers since 2020 and has appeared in 46 games. He's an integral part of the team's special teams unit, evidenced by the fact that he's played nearly 400 snaps over the last three seasons.
Pepper played college ball at Michigan State. He was the starting long snapper all four years in Lansing and tied the school record for the most career games played (54).
2015 was his final year and he didn't immediately catch on in the NFL after going undrafted. The Green Bay Packers picked him up in 2017, however, and he eventually appeared in four games that year.
The Giants picked him Pepper up in 2018, but he never got off the practice squad. He was eventually waived and then picked up by the Miami Dolphins the following year.
Things went a bit better in Miami as Pepper appeared in 12 games and played over 100 special teams snaps as the long snapper. That gave teams enough film to study and sure enough, he ended up with the 49ers in 2020.
The 49ers later inked Pepper to a two-year extension worth $2.08 million in 2021, per Spotrac. 2022 was the final year of his deal.
Instead of allowing Pepper to become a free agent and test the market/avoid losing him, the 49ers decided to go ahead and extend him before the season started.
Which goes to show how much they value Pepper and how incredible his journey has been, thus far.
Details of the deal haven't been released, but the 49ers had just a little over $8 million in cap space before the move, per Over The Cap.
Featured image via Stan Szeto-USA TODAY Sports
