When you think of an iron man of consistency and perfection you generally envision someone like Brett Favre, Cal Ripken or Tom Brady. What you do not think about is the Cincinnati Bengal’s long snapper Clark Harris. Harris has been in the NFL for 13 years and part of the Bengals since 2009. He has been a model of consistency and quite honestly a position that no one notices. In order to get points on every field goal that ball has to be thrown perfectly. Every punt most be perfectly placed in Kevin Huber’s hands. This guy also has to block as an offensive lineman.
If you recall Clark Harris took over in 2009 when Brad St. Louis had bad snaps in four of five games. He got the snapping yips and Marvin wanted to correct it quickly. I remember watching those games and shouting at the tv that he only has to throw a ball between his legs. Marvin agreed and cut St. Louis. I have come a long way on the complexities of long snapping and realize that is a very precise skill.
Harris has not had an unplayable snap while being on the Bengals. That is 1,559 out of 1,559 attempts that were perfect. I don’t know about you but I can barely do something perfect once that I am good at much less 1,559. He is also the oldest guy on the Bengals roster at 35 years old. In 2017 he earned his first Pro Bowl spot which is arguably just a carousel around the league to give everyone a turn. Is Clark Harris ever going to the Hall of Fame, nope, but we should take a moment to recognize how steady he has been at an important position.
2020 is Harris’ last year under contract and he will make $1.075M. In his career he has made $10.7M in his 13 seasons. Not bad scratch at all! He ranks 8th in salaries among all NFL long snappers which to me says he is a top 10 guy. Beau Brinkley with the Titans is the highest paid long snapper making $1.281M. The two guys that made the Pro Bowl last year (Casey Kreiter – Denver, Don Muhlbach – Detroit) are also not household names and when I look at every single roster these guys could just as easily be insurance salesmen.
For a 7th round draft pick who was cut by the Packers, Lions and Texans things have worked out pretty well for the Bengals iron man and the franchise. Shout out to SeaTurkey who inspired this posting.