The Saints new long snapper, Jason Kyle, has garnered a good bit of press and attention these first few days of training camp and with the cirumstances surrounding his signing with the team, I'm not surprised. Regardless of how you feel about his presence on the Saints, we all have to admit the consensus agrees: He's a talented snapper and a quality player. Like the Jabari Greer situation I wrote about yesterday, Kyle was a player that his former team, in this case the Panthers, didn't want to let go but just couldn't afford him anymore. The Charlotte Observer mentioned this fact the other day...
A salary-cap crunch contributed to the decision to not re-sign steady Jason Kyle, who held the job eight seasons and now is with New Orleans.
and Pat Yasinskas touched on the very same subject just this morning...
I've covered Kyle for a lot of years and can't recall ever seeing him have a bad snap, even in practice. That kind of consistency is what the Saints have been seeking throughout their special teams. That's something the Panthers had throughout Kyle's time with the team, but it's a luxury they no longer could afford with Julius Peppers eating up $18 million in salary-cap space.
We should all be optimistic and worry-free that Kyle is a more than adequate replacement; happy because he's with the Saints and not the Panthers. Great news.
But Pat Y. is ignoring the fact that the Saints had a younger, equally consistent long snapper before Kyle. We might even be led to believe that this little snapper switch-a-roo was a needed upgrade and well planned maneuver by the Saints front office.
Doubtful.
Sure, the Saints may be looking for "consistency throughout their special teams." After all, what team isn't? But I don't think they were seeking it in the snapping department, however.
Instead, the Saints were forced to look elsewhere after Houser's investment deal soured his relationship with teammates. So if Jason Kyle winds up being the welcome addition we now expect him to be - or the downgrade for Carolina we hope - chalk it up to pure luck. The timing of the tax credit fiasco and the availability of Jason Kyle were purely serendipitous. Had it never happened, I firmly believe Houser is still on this team and Kyle gets shipped somewhere else.
Thanks Chad Houser.