Patriots sign free agent Wes Farnsworth to improve their long snapper depth

The New England Patriots entered Wednesday with three open spots on their 90-man offseason roster, and they apparently filled one of them by adding a second long snapper. According to his agent, Brent Tessler, free agent Wes Farnsworth has signed a contract with the team.

Following a four-year career at the University of Nevada, Reno, Farnsworth went unselected in the 2019 NFL Draft. He did find a home in the pros after all, though, by signing a free agent deal with the Miami Dolphins just a short time later.

While he saw action in all four of the Dolphins’ preseason games as a rookie and attempted a combined 13 snaps on punts and place kicks, he failed to survive roster cutdown day. Miami cut Farnsworth, and he remained on the open market until the Denver Broncos picked him up via a futures pact later that same year.

Farnsworth spent the entire 2020 offseason with the Broncos and participated in their first 10 practices of training camp, but he was waived again in August. He did not sign another NFL contract until today.

Now, the 6-foot-1, 230-pound long snapper will join a team with a well established veteran ahead of him on the depth chart: Joe Cardona has been with the Patriots since they drafted him in the fifth round in 2015; he won two Super Bowls and is among the most reliable long snappers in the league. Farnsworth beating him out in a potential training camp competition would be a major surprise.

Given that Cardona is serving as a Lieutenant in the Navy besides his football career, however, adding some depth for offseason workouts is probably not a bad idea.

With Farnsworth in the fold, and keeping fullback Jakob Johnson’s international roster exemption in mind, New England now has two open spots remaining on their 90-man team. Another spot will free up once safety Patrick Chung’s retirement will be officially processed after June 1.