Tanner Purdum
American football player (born 1984)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tanner Gregory Purdum[1] (born August 15, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a long snapper for seven seasons with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Purdum comes from Ava, Missouri.[2] He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football for the Baker Wildcats.
Enid, Oklahoma, U.S.
| No. 46 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Long snapper | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born | August 15, 1984 Enid, Oklahoma, U.S. | ||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||
| Listed weight | 270 lb (122 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school | Ava (Ava, Missouri) | ||||||
| College | Baker | ||||||
| NFL draft | 2008: undrafted | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Professional career
Kansas City Chiefs
On April 7, 2009, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Purdum with the intention of having him compete for the starting job of long snapper.[3][4] On August 13, 2009, the Chiefs waived Purdum in favor of Thomas Gafford.[5][6]
New York Jets
On February 5, 2010, the New York Jets signed Purdum to a three-year contract after incumbent long snapper James Dearth, who was an unrestricted free agent at the time, had a few snaps that were "off the mark" in the 2009 season.[7][8] Purdum was recommended to the team by former Chiefs and Jets punter Louie Aguiar.[8]
On March 10, 2017, Purdum signed a one-year contract extension with the Jets.[9]
On September 2, 2017, Purdum was released by the Jets after the team traded for rookie long snapper Thomas Hennessy. At the time, Purdum was the longest-tenured player on the team, and the last remaining player on the roster who had appeared in a playoff game for the Jets.[10]
On March 28, 2018, Purdum announced his retirement from the NFL.[11]