Long Snapper Charley Hughlett signed to PS

Erik Scalavino ‏@E_Scal 7m
Former #Patriots LS Charley Hughlett is the team's new long snapper.



Was with the team earlier this year, cut a few months back. Was with the Jaguars in camp but was recently cut by them. No word on the corresponding roster move....

Here was the teams release back in March when they originally signed him:

Patriots sign LS Charley Hughlett | Patriots.com - March 19, 2014

Hughlett, 23, originally entered the NFL as a rookie free agent with the Dallas Cowboys out of Central Florida on April 30, 2012. The 6-foot-4, 251-pounder was released by Dallas on Aug. 27, 2012. He was re-signed by Dallas on Jan. 7, 2013 and released for a second time on May 29, 2013. He handled all long snapping duties for four seasons at Central Florida.

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What did Aiken do to incur the wrath of the Dark Croatian Warlord?

PatsWickedPissah said:

What did Aiken do to incur the wrath of the Dark Croatian Warlord?

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I dunno. I was thinking the same thing when I read earlier that he was released.

He was, with one exception, a pretty solid, reliable LS, so either Coach saw something in his abilities, or Aiken had some personal issues, complaints, whatever.

Of course, it may also be the Belichick has decided to always go for it if you are outside your own 30 yard line, and eschew punting. Probably quite unlikely, but it WOULD make for some interesting games.

I saw that Hughlett is only on the PS, so I guess they are waiting to add him to the 53 man roster

PatsWickedPissah said:

What did Aiken do to incur the wrath of the Dark Croatian Warlord?

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Allen bailed him out big time from numerous bad snaps last year.

Correction: Hughlett is on the Practice Squad, not the 53 man roster. Per Mike Reiss.

Probably means a 1 week tryout in practice for the kid

Froob said:

Allen bailed him out big time from numerous bad snaps last year.

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Yet they signed him to a $755k contract this offseason...$55k bonus. Lousy camp maybe?

Aiken may be sitting in foxboro as the 54th man on the roster and is currently off so bb can do the backup DT auditions

borg said:

Yet they signed him to a $755k contract this offseason...$55k bonus. Lousy camp maybe?

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That's the veteran minimum salary. It didn't cost them much to cut him.

AndyJohnson said:

Aiken may be sitting in foxboro as the 54th man on the roster and is currently off so bb can do the backup DT auditions

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Or maybe Hughlett is auditioning?

Mack Herron said:

Or maybe Hughlett is auditioning?

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Both I think

AndyJohnson said:

Both I think

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Makes sense. It's a business, after all, and the players who understand that part handle cuts/signings/trades better than those who don't.

I'm thinking that Aiken will likely be back in the fold once the dust settles these next couple of days.

AndyJohnson said:

Both I think

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Yeah, gotta release somebody to add LS. I'm thinking Sat night while everyone is busy preparing....

It would be interesting to know if Aiken's locker is empty. The Pats could use Hughlett for the next few practices and still
re-sign Aiken for Sunday. They will definitely add a long snapper to their roster for Sunday and I also expect Chris White
and possibly Kanorris Davis added for special teams purposes.
Wednesday is a wild card. If Chris Jones is not expected to be fit soon, he might be placed on short term IR and open a
roster spot.

borg said:

Yet they signed him to a $755k contract this offseason...$55k bonus. Lousy camp maybe?

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So $700,000 is not guaranteed unless he is on the roster Week 1....

If Ninko really were to be planned as the game long snapper -- would he take all the practice snaps even so? On the one hand, he needs the practice; on the other, practice at his regular job is very important this early in the season as well.

I thought that cutting Aiken was most likely just a way to create some space while a trade was put in place. But signing the two DTs was unexpected. I still think it's an audition and that Aiken will be back for next Sunday. In the unlikely event that Aiken is taken elsewhere, they have Hughlett.

hwc said:

So $700,000 is not guaranteed unless he is on the roster Week 1....

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It's almost a non factor. It's less than 50k a game in the event you release him later.
That's not worth not having him for 1 game if he is the best man for the job.

It tells me that the Pats have decided that Aiken is "just a guy" long snapper and they would be no better or no worse off with any random "just a guy" long snapper. It's a big deal to not guarantee his salary because they would like to preserve the opportunity to upgrade the position. Or, to cut Aiken if he sails a couple more balls over the punter's head.

Nice, so now we can stop losing sleep on the Pats next LS....