The long-snapper's agent says snaps weren't the problem; blocking might have been.
By GREG AUMAN
Published May 22, 2004
Being an NFL long-snapper, Ryan Benjamin is pretty good at putting things behind him.
The River Ridge High School graduate, who earned a Super Bowl ring as a rookie long-snapper for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was upbeat about his future in pro football Friday, one day after learning he'd been cut by the NFL team.
"I'm not stressing about it," said Benjamin, a 23-year-old who was the first University of South Florida player to sign with the Bucs. "I'm looking forward to taking another opportunity and finding a team that values a good long-snapper."
Benjamin said he was surprised by the Bucs' move, which has the team choosing its next snapper from a group of players with less snapping experience but the ability to contribute at other positions. He said his size - 6-foot-2 and 260 pounds - might have been a factor as well.
"I think the idea of having a bigger guy in there was appealing to them, but if you go through the league and look at the long-snappers, I'm almost exactly what the average is."
Benjamin's agent, Kevin Gold, who represents five NFL long-snappers, said Benjamin's snaps were never an issue, but blocking might have been, as interior penetration led to blocked kicks last season, including a blocked extra point that cost the Bucs a win against Carolina in the season opener.
"The ball didn't fly over anybody's heads in the last two years, and Ryan had a pretty solid time with the Bucs," Gold said. "I was a little bit shocked by the move, but now is better than Aug. 25. He's one of the few (available) guys out there with NFL experience, so there's a handful of teams I think would take a shot at claiming him off waivers."
Gold said the Tennessee Titans and Buffalo Bills are the teams most likely to sign Benjamin, who said he just wants another chance to compete for an NFL job. Benjamin played one game with the Chicago Bears in 2001, then joined the Bucs six games into the 2002 season, which ended with Tampa Bay's Super Bowl victory. Should a team pick him up off waivers, he'll play under his current one-year contract, which would pay him $380,000, the league minimum for a third-year player.
