3 Long Snappers the Cowboys Can Target to Replace Trent Sieg in Free Agency
3. JJ Jansen
I've saved the best for last. With JJ Jansen, you don't need to answer that dilemma of whether you prioritize snapping or kick coverage.
Again looking at PFF grades for the nine long snappers set to hit free agency (including Sieg) Jansen ranks No. 4 in grades oh field goal/extra point (80.7), second in long-snapping grade (69.6) and second in miscellaneous special teams grade (77.1). He also had no missed tackles and no penalties on the year, something only three of the nine can say.
Jansen is 38 years old, so this is another situation where we're not getting someone who will be a mainstay on the Cowboys' special teams unit for the next decade, but considering he played at such a high level in 2023, we don't need to worry that he can't give us a good year or two.
No long snapper currently makes more than an average of $1.6 million per year, so it's also not like Jerry Jones would have to break the bank to bring in the top free agent at the position. Even if Jansen wants a raise from the $1.3 million he made in 2023, that's something even a cap-conscious Cowboys team can afford.
When we're trying to be serious about a Super Bowl push (no matter what the betting odds might say about it), this is not the time to cheap out on a quietly important position like long snapper.
The Cowboys currently have the fifth-best odds (+1300) to win the Super Bowl next season. How well they do in free agency will determine whether they can boost their odds ahead of the 2024 campaign.
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