Tanner Purdum
Tanner Gregory Purdum[1] (born August 15, 1984) is a former American football long snapper who played seven seasons with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Purdum comes from Ava, Missouri.[2] He was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Baker.
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Position: | Long snapper | ||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||
Born: | Enid, Oklahoma | August 15, 1984||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | ||||||||
Weight: | 270 lb (122 kg) | ||||||||
Career information | |||||||||
High school: | Ava (MO) | ||||||||
College: | Baker | ||||||||
Undrafted: | 2008 | ||||||||
Career history | |||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||
Career NFL statistics as of 2016 | |||||||||
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Professional career
Kansas City Chiefs
On April 7, 2009, the Kansas City Chiefs signed Purdum with the intention of having him compete for the starting job of long snapper.[3][4] On August 13, 2009, the Chiefs waived Purdum in favor of Thomas Gafford.[5][6]
New York Jets
On February 5, 2010, the New York Jets signed Purdum to a three-year contract after incumbent long snapper James Dearth, who was an unrestricted free agent at the time, had a few snaps that were "off the mark" in the 2009 season.[7][8] Purdum was recommended to the team by former Chiefs and Jets punter Louie Aguiar.[8]
On March 10, 2017, Purdum signed a one-year contract extension with the Jets.[9]
On September 2, 2017, Purdum was released by the Jets after the team traded for rookie long snapper Thomas Hennessy. At the time, Purdum was the longest-tenured player on the team, and the last remaining player on the roster who had appeared in a playoff game for the Jets.[10]
On March 28, 2018, Purdum announced his retirement from the NFL.[11]
Personal life
Purdum is married to his wife, Kara.[1] He received his master's degree in education from Baker in 2009.[1]
References
- "Tanner Purdum", New York Jets, archived from the original on October 27, 2010, retrieved October 27, 2010
- www.rostermon.com : Taqnner Purdum Retrieved 2017-07-04.
- "Chiefs Sign WR Rodney Wright, LS Tanner Purdum", Kansas City Chiefs, April 7, 2009, archived from the original on October 27, 2010, retrieved October 27, 2010
- J-W Staff (April 4, 2009), "Former Baker player joins K.C. Chiefs", LJWorld.com, Lawrence Journal-World & 6News, archived from the original on October 27, 2010, retrieved October 27, 2010
- "Access Training Camp: Blog - Ready for Arrowhead", Kansas City Chiefs, August 13, 2009, archived from the original on October 27, 2010, retrieved October 27, 2010
- "Kansas City Signs Free Agent LS Thomas Gafford", Kansas City Chiefs, August 13, 2009, archived from the original on October 27, 2010, retrieved October 27, 2010
- Cimini, Rich (February 5, 2010), "The end of the Dearth era?", New York Daily News, archived from the original on 2010-02-09, retrieved October 27, 2010
- Davis, Kyle (February 5, 2010), "Former Wildcat signs with New York Jets", The Baker Orange, archived from the original on October 27, 2010, retrieved October 27, 2010
- Allen, Eric (March 10, 2017). "LS Tanner Purdum Re-Signs with Jets". NewYorkJets.com.
- Allen, Eric (September 2, 2017). "Jets Release LS Tanner Purdum". NewYorkJets.com.
- "Former Jets LS Tanner Purdum announces retirement". USAToday.com. March 28, 2018.