Retain, Tag, or Walk? - John Denney

The NFL season is down to just one game remaining with the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams preparing for Super Bowl LIII. Meanwhile, the rest of the league continues to prepare for the 2019 league year, including free agency. The first step in free agency preparation is determining what each club is going to do with their own soon-to-be free agents.

Our annual “Retain, Tag, or Walk” series of articles, given you a closer look at the Miami Dolphins players with expiring contracts and giving you a chance to vote on what you would do with that player. Today, we take a look at long snapper John Denney.

Fact Check

Position: LS
Age: 40
Experience: Entering 15th season
Height/Weight: 6’5”, 242 lbs
College: BYU
Expiring Contract: 1-year, $1.02 million (cap hit $630,000)

2018 Review

John Denney played in all 16 games this past season - just like he has for every season since being signed as an undrafted free agent in 2005. Denney’s 224 consecutive games played streak is the longest active streak in the league, tied the longest streak for a long snapper in league history, and is 17th all-time in league history.

2019 Outlook

Denney had one bad game this past season, but there is no reason to suspect his level of play is falling off and that he will not be productive in 2019.

Verdict

The last couple of seasons, Miami has brought in a long snapper for training camp and the preseason, but that was likely more to do with keeping Denney healthy in games that do not count than anything else. The Dolphins likely head into the 2019 season with the punter/holder, kicker, and long snapper all solidified for another season.

I will not include the tag option for Denney, because there is no realistic reason to use a franchise tag on him.

My vote: Retain