Packers Sign Long Snapper Brett Goode

The Packers have signed veteran long snapper Brett Goode today, filling the vacancy on the roster created by the release of Letroy Guion.

Entering his tenth NFL season, Goode has been a fixture in Green Bay, though his relationship with the team over the past couple seasons has been somewhat up and down.

He was not retained after the 2015 season when he tore his ACL late in the year, but he returned near the conclusion of the 2016 training camp when a parade of potential replacements didn’t pan out.

Goode was again not retained at the end of last season as the Packers tried to make things work with Taybor Pepper and Derek Hart. Pepper, though, is long gone and Hart has been inconsistent throughout camp.

What happens now?

Though Hart has improved recently, Goode’s reputation for both excellence and consistency is well earned. With Goode back on the roster, the real question now is how Hart can win the impending battle, assuming he’s not released before the weekend is through.

Goode’s snapping ability is near-mythical, and that’s not an exaggeration. On a recent edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Packers Podcast, beat writer Michael Cohen spoke in-depth about Goode’s ability to perform a field goal long snap in such a way that the holder only has to grab the ball and put it down on the ground with no need to rotate the ball so the laces are out. The story goes that this is an expectation for Goode, even routine.

It seems, then, that the real battle here is between the 2017 version of Brett Goode and his reputation to date. If he can perform even close to how he’s snapped in the past, he may just win by default.

If Hart really rallies, though, then things could get interesting.

In the meantime, the Packers are once again a two long snapper team. For now.