Packers Have Long Snapper Again

As expected, veteran long snapper Matt Orzech is back with the Packers after he was released on Monday.

Green Bay Packers long snapper Matt Orzech (42) and linebacker Kingsley Enagbare (55) block on a punt at Pittsburgh. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers re-signed long snapper Matt Orzech on Wednesday and released defensive tackle Jonathan Ford.

Those moves were expected after the team released Orzech to activate Ford off injured reserve on Monday.

After an ankle injury sent Ford to injured reserve to start the season, his 21-day practice window had ended. So, Green Bay had to sign him to the roster or place him back on injured reserve, which would have ended his season.

So, Green Bay signed him on Monday and released him on Wednesday with the expectation of re-signing him to the practice squad on Thursday. The team cleared a space for Ford on Tuesday by releasing fullback Andrew Beck.

At practice on Wednesday, Orzech was back at work, snapping the ball to punter/holder Daniel Whelan.

Orzech has snapped in every game since the start of the 2021 season, including 24-of-24 since signing with the Packers in free agency in 2023.

While Orzech’s snaps weren’t always right on the money, he avoided any potentially catastrophic snaps last year. This year, though, he had a high snap on a punt against the Rams that Daniel Whelan grabbed with a leaping catch to avoid a safety; a penalty nullified the play, anyway. And then Orzech’s snap on Brandon McManus’ game-winning field goal on Sunday against Houston was low but saved by Whelan.

“Way lower. Way, way lower” than it should have been, Orzech said. “But Danny does a great job working with me and making me right when I’m not right. At the end of the day, that specialists battery is about making each other right, and he did a heck of a job. I owe him dinner for that one.”

Orzech won a Super Bowl ring with the Rams. He’s been the veteran voice for a first-year punter (Whelan in 2023) and rookie kickers (Anders Carlson in 2023 and Brayden Narveson in 2024).

“I think Matt’s really done a good job of being a steadying force throughout training camp,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said late last season. “He’s been a good player in the past where he’s been, so we’re excited about what he can add to us velocity-wise, protection-wise and just a calming presence to some degree that’s played a lot of football. We’re excited to have him.”

Orzech spent part of his childhood in Wisconsin. He was thrilled to sign with the Packers.

“There was definitely the allure of the history and culture of the team,” he said in 2023. “I talked to a few guys that I know that played here in the past that loved the organization from the top down and sang their praises.

“On top of that, there’s a whole clan of Orzechs in the Wisconsin era that are over the moon right now to be able to wear green and yellow again after being forced to wear other teams’ logos over the last few years.”

Ford was a seventh-round pick in 2022. He will return to the practice squad, where he’s spent his entire career. Ford has not played in a regular-season game for Green Bay.

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