1 of the most underappreciated players in Cowboys history is back
Most NFL fans don’t think too much about their team’s long snapper.
And if they do, that’s probably not a good thing.
The less you hear about a long snapper, the better off you are, because that means the long snapper has not done anything to warrant attention, like sail the ball over the head of, or on the ground in front of, the punter or holder.
This is why Cowboys veteran long snapper L.P. Ladouceur is so valuable to the team — and why Dallas just re-signed him to a one-year deal, according to ESPN.
The Cowboys are expected to re-sign veteran long snapper L.P. Ladouceur and retain a key member of their kicking operation for a 14th season.
More ➡️ https://t.co/sisEBiKY8g pic.twitter.com/fGUqwy308x
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) March 19, 2018
Ladouceur has been the Cowboys’ long snapper for 13 years, and in that time he has a streak of 204 games without a bad snap.
That’s the kind of piece of mind that Cowboys coach Jason Garrett and his staff are willing to pay to keep.
It’s not clear how much he signed for, but Ladouceur, 37, is coming off a five-year, $5.5 million deal that paid him more than $1 million per year on average.
It’s pretty incredible that in the team’s long and storied history, only four players have longer tenure than Ladouceur — current tight end Jason Witten, who is entering his 16th season with the Cowboys, along with Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Bill Bates and Mark Tuinei, each of whom played 15 years in Dallas.
L.P. Ladouceur has played in 204 games for the Cowboys. The 4th most in Franchise history. He's behind only Jason Witten (239), Ed "Too Tall" Jones (224) and Bill Bates (217).
— DCBlueStar (@DCBlueStar) March 19, 2018
Bob Lilly, Mel Renfro, Randy White, Lee Roy Jordan, Jethro Pugh, Tom Rafferty and Tony Romo all played 14 years with the Cowboys.
There was some concern that Ladouceur might be pried out of Dallas by Oakland Raiders special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, who was the Cowboys special teams coordinator from 2013 to 2017.
New Raiders head coach Jon Gruden hired Bisaccia to run special teams for Oakland this offseason. Bisaccia and the Raiders had already poached Cowboys special teamers Kyle Wilber and Keith Smith to play in Oakland and had expressed interest in signing Ladouceur, according to ESPN.
L.P. Ladouceur is literally the best player at his position in the entire league. There's no arguing that. Why are we now arguing if re-signing the literal best player at his position is somehow "stupid" on the part of the @dallascowboys 🤷🏼♂️ Grow up, #CowboysNation
— Jamie (@JHoRadio) March 19, 2018
But the Cowboys and new special teams coach Keith O’Quinn weren’t prepared to let him go.
Ladouceur might not be a household name among fans, but Cowboys coaches don’t underestimate his value.
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