Each year, we run a series of post called "90-in-90" here at Niners Nation. The idea is that we'll take a look at every single player on the roster, from the very bottom to the top and break them down a few different ways. This is to help give everyone a basic understanding of a roster. Of course, this roster will change, and some days we'll have more than one so it's not strictly one per day but you get the idea.
There are still plenty of big names left in the 90-in-90 series, but why not spend a quiet (so far) Friday going a little under the radar. It’s long snapper day!
The San Francisco 49ers enter year three of the Kyle Nelson era. He signed a four-year contract a year ago March, locking him up through 2018. He was the team’s third long-snapper in as many years, having gone from Brian Jennings to Kevin McDermott to Nelson. In two seasons as the long snapper, Nelson has played all 32 games. Prior to that he played 11 games with Washington in 2013, and six games with the San Diego Chargers in 2012. He bounced around rosters in 2011 and 2012, including two stints with the 49ers, one in the offseason, and one in training camp.
There’s only so much you can say about the long snapper, and through two years, all seems well for Nelson. Exciting stuff, I know, but he’s a very capable long snapper.
Basic info
Age: 29 (30 on October 3)
Experience: 4 accrued seasons
Height: 6'2
Weight: 240 lbs
Contract Status
Entering year two of a four-year contract signed in March 2015. He will earn a base salary of $795,000. He has a workout bonus of $25,000, and his cap hit will be $970,000.
What to expect in 2016
There’s only so much we can say about the long snapper, I suppose. He could potentially get the yips and become a bad long snapper. He could continue doing fine and follow the Brian Jennings model, playing until the team just decides they don't want to pay seven figures for the position. It's pretty simple, really.
I do hope for another chance to see him get some tight end snaps in the fourth quarter of preseason games. He did not get any offensive snaps last year, but the one-time tight end had two touchdowns in the preseason the year before. Given that he is locked in at the position, I doubt we see him getting any snaps, so as to avoid injury.
Odds of making the roster
The team did not draft or sign a long-snapper as far as I can tell, so he’s not going anywhere this year. One upside to adding the “Basic Info” section is I got to find out that Nelson is turning 30 in October. For a long-snapper, it’s not really all that old, but he’s been around longer than I remembered. And I suppose he entered the league a bit older, too.
It will be interesting though to see how long he sticks around on his contract. Cap space is not an issue at this point, but at some point the 49ers will want to get younger and cheaper at the position. We saw it with Brian Jennings. When do we eventually see it with Nelson?