The Cincinnati Bengals roster has two long snappers on it — Cal Adomitis of Pittsburgh is one of those long snappers. He’s going to have an uphill battle when it comes to making the 53-man roster this year but nothing is impossible.
The Pittsburgh product spent five years with the Panthers, securing the long snapper job during his freshman season in 2017. He never relinquished the role and now enters training camp in a battle with long-time Bengals long snapper Clark Harris.
Harris opted to return for a 15th NFL season and his 14th in Cincinnati. The soon-to-be 38-year-old should win the job for the stripes. If he’s the favorite, what should fans expect out of Adomitis?
Bengals Roster: What to expect from Adomitis in 2022
In a perfect world, the Bengals would stash Adomitis on the practice squad and no one would poach him. A year from now, when Harris potentially retires (though long snappers can play for a lot longer than most positions can), the Pitt product can slide into the role after a year with the team.
Unfortunately, that scenario might not end up playing out. Long snappers aren’t exactly in high demand but if a team is in need of one, Adomitis could be someone they look to snag off Cincy’s practice squad. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least bit if Adomitis ends up snapping the ball in 2022 but as a member of another team.
With long snappers in general, it’s hard to really discuss much because their job is to snap the ball on special teams. No one talks about them until they royally mess up. Harris hasn’t messed up much throughout his career and that’s why he’ll be the frontrunner to win the long snapper job for the 14th straight year in the Queen City.
Unless Clark Harris gets injured or has a really bad training camp and preseason, Cal Adomitis probably isn’t sniffing any playing time with the stripes.
The realistic expectations for Adomitis in 2022 are that he’ll either be on the practice squad or spending time with another team. Such is life for a professional long snapper.