Buffalo Bills extend long snapper Reid Ferguson with three-year deal

When the best players on the Buffalo Bills are often discussed, the long snapper usually is not included in that discussion. However, over the past few seasons there may not be a better long-snapper in the NFL than Reid Ferguson.

The Bills recognize what they have at the often overlooked position and they signed Ferguson to a three-year extension on Friday that will keep him in Buffalo through the 2024 season. The Bills starting long snapper was entering the final year of his current deal.

Ferguson joined the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent in 2016 but was released prior to the start of the season. He returned to the organization midseason as a member of the practice squad.

The Bills re-signed Ferguson to a future/reserves contract after the season and beginning in 2017 he was named the team’s starting long snapper, a position he has held every season since.

He has appeared in 64 games during that stretch and has seven total tackles. However, the reason he is one of the best in the game is his consistency on punt and field goal attempts. According to Sal Capaccio, Ferguson has yet to have a botched snap in 549 snaps over the past four seasons.

This is an often overlooked aspect of the game and is incredibly important to the team’s success. The reason is that if Reid Ferguson has an errant snap on a field goal attempt, he could be taking points off the board for the Bills.

On the other side, if Ferguson has a bad snap on a punt attempt, this will likely set the opposing team up in a great field position that likely results in points for them.

This may not seem like an important deal but in the overall picture, Reid Ferguson was a player the Bills didn’t want to leave with what he brings to this team.