Packers Sign Snapper To Challenge Bradley
GREEN BAY, Wis. – Hunter Bradley hung onto his job as the Green Bay Packers’ long snapper but that doesn’t mean it’s a permanent gig.
The Packers on Thursday signed Steven Wirtel to the practice squad. To make room, they released defensive tackle Willington Previlon.
Bradley mostly went through camp unchallenged to retain the job for a fourth consecutive season, but it wasn’t smooth sailing. The Packers practiced field goals on Tuesday and Thursday last week. On Tuesday, three of Bradley’s six snaps were plucked off the Hutson Center FieldTurf by JK Scott. On Thursday, Bradley was low on one of his seven snaps.
“That’s a practice,” Gutekunst said on Wednesday when asked why Bradley remained the snapper, “but, really, I think in Hunter’s time here, he’s been really consistent. In games, I think he’s only had a handful of snaps that we would consider not great. None that have really cost us. So, I think Hunter’s done a really good job for us and he’ll continue to be our snapper, unless we can find better.”
Only time will tell if Wirtel is better than Bradley but he’ll get a chance to prove it.
Wirtel snapped in 51 games at Iowa State from 2016 through 2019, earning first-team all-Big 12 honors as a junior and senior. He was invited to the Senior Bowl and Scouting Combine. At the Combine, he measured 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.76 seconds. That was the fastest 40 by a long snapper in Combine history. For comparison, Bradley, who overcame three torn ACLs at Mississippi State, ran his 40 in 4.78 at MSU’s pro day.
“One of the big things I've learned through this process is you have to find that one thing that separates you,” Wirtel said at the Scouting Combine. “For me, it’s been that athleticism. After snapping and blocking, how can I be a weapon? To me, that’s getting downfield and making plays. At the end of the day, I'm a football player, too. I want to stick my nose in there and make plays. That's what I love to do.”
Unlike Bradley, a seventh-round pick in 2018, Wirtel went undrafted in 2020 and spent the entire rookie season on the Detroit Lions’ practice squad. The Los Angeles Rams signed him in February and he lasted until Aug. 25, when he was released to make room for running back Sony Michel.
Wirtel spent training camp with the Rams snapping to Green Bay’s new punter, Corey Bojorquez.
Wirtel’s older brother, John, snapped for Kansas and got a shot with the Chicago Bears.
“It’s funny, people were like, ‘Sixth grade and you want to be a long snapper?” Wirtel said at the Combine. “It’s not something you think about, but we just explored the possibility of being a specialist in general. You can get college paid for potentially, so, shoot, might as well give it a shot.”
