Although 2017 draft choices are not yet eligible for extensions, 2017 UDFAs are. The Jets took advantage of this by coming to terms with their long snapper.
Thomas Hennessy agreed to a four-year, $4.4MM extension, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The deal will guarantee Gang Green’s third-year snapper $1.15MM — $625K in the form of a signing bonus — and tie him to the Jets through the 2023 season.
The Colts initially signed Hennessy as a UDFA two years ago but traded him to the Jets before the start of the 2017 season. He’s played in each of the Jets’ 35 games since. While there are no traditional stats to illustrate the 25-year-old specialist’s skill, the fact that his name does not come up often is probably a good sign.
Hennessy will move from a rookie contract to the going veteran snapper rate, becoming the 18th deep snapper to fall between the $1MM-$1.3MM salary range.