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Snap judgment: Denney is released
Veteran cut after 14 seasons, played in second-most games in Dolphins history
John Denney, the longtime Miami Dolphins long snapper who played in the second-most games in franchise history behind only Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, was cut by the team Monday, one week shy of his 15th season.
Denney’s release comes just six days before the Dolphins’ season opener and follows a weekend where three veterans were shipped to other teams in trades.
Taybor Pepper, who has played sparingly for the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants since 2017, will replace Denney as the team’s new long snapper. Pepper, 25, was originally signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan State in 2016.
“Today, unfortunately, marks the end of my time with the Miami Dolphins,” Denney said in a statement tweeted by his agent, Ian Greengross. “I want to thank the Dolphins for giving me a chance back in 2005. Over the last 14 years, I have had many wonderful, hard-working teammates, all of whom I would like to thank. I also want to thank all of the coaches. In addition, I would like to thank some of the greatest fans in the league. You have shown me so much love since I first put on a Dolphins jersey! Please know that your support, especially on social media, since the announcement, has been sincerely appreciated.”
The 6-foot-5, 242-pound Denney, who was one of the oldest players in the NFL at 40, had not missed a game in his 14 seasons (2005-18). He had appeared in 224 consecutive games since signing with the Dolphins as an undrafted rookie in 2005 — by far a team record and is the longest active streak in the NFL. He trails only Marino (242) on the team’s alltime list for games played. Denney also was just the second 40-year-old player to ever suit up for the Dolphins, joining Earl Morrall.
How did Denney become a long snapper?
He was in eighth grade, playing his first year of football when the coach at West Lake Middle School in Broomfield, Colo., asked a simple question: “Who wants to snap the football? Come over here.”
A tire hung from a goalpost. Players lined up from 10 yards away. Denney, like the others, had never long-snapped before.
“I didn’t strike the center of the tire,’’ he said last season, “But I hit the tire. That got me the job. I was the best of the worst. But it sparked an interest in me.”
Denney’s opportunities continued in high school and college.
“When I went from eighth grade to high school, the guy who was snapping just graduated,’’ he said. “When I got to college, the guy snapping was a senior, and I was red-shirted. When he graduated, there I was again. I always had the opportunity to be a snapper.”
Denney, who was an offensive lineman in high school, started 29 games at Brigham Young as a defensive end. That brought an invite to Dolphins camp as an undrafted rookie hoping to make the defense.
How’d he do?
“I became the long snapper,’’ he said.
Denney was a three-year starter at defensive end at BYU (2002-04), but won the Dolphins’ job of long snapper over incumbent Ed Perry. He was six days shy of playing for his eighth Dolphins coach in Brian Flores after sticking through the regimes of coaches Nick Saban, Cam Cameron, Tony Sparano, Joe Philbin and Adam Gase — plus interim coaches Todd Bowles and Dan Campbell.
“Organizationally, we just felt like — look, John has done a tremendous job for this organization for a long time,” said Flores. “From a leadership standpoint, from a coming-in-and-working-every-day standpoint, no one has done more than he has, so I’m very appreciative of the time I spent with him. At the end of the day, we felt like this was a move we needed to make.”
Denney’s brother, Ryan Denney, was a defensive end for the Buffalo Bills (2002-09) and Houston Texans (2010).
The Dolphins re-signed Denney, a two-time Pro Bowl selection (2010, 2012), to a one-year contract worth $735,000 on Feb. 8. He was scheduled to hit free agency in March.
Denney became the latest veteran to be jettisoned. The Dolphins traded away Laremy Tunsil and Kenny Stills to the Houston Texans on Saturday in exchange for future draft picks, while sending Kiko Alonso to the New Orleans Saints.