Jones: Patriots Long Snapper Joe Cardona 'Biggest Waste Of A Pick' In Belichick's Tenure
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Patriots will need to go an extended period of time without long snapper Joe Cardona. U.S. Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus confirmed on the Dan Patrick Show that the former fifth-round pick has been assigned to a ship and will need to report to it to serve for "a year or so."
Cardona played long snapper for the Patriots during the 2015 season while on active duty with the Navy, and balanced his time between the two.
Adam Jones called the Patriots' selection of Cardona, 166th overall in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft, "the biggest waste of a pick Bill [Belichick]'s ever had," adding: "It's not his worst pick. It's not his biggest bust. He drafted a punter in the fifth round, but at least the punter you knew you were going to have for more than a year." Jones assumes that Cardona leaving the Patriots for the Navy could be the last we see of him in a Patriots uniform, meaning the Patriots spent a fifth-round pick on one year of a long snapper.
Jones and Rich Keefe are particularly curious about the "or so" part of Mabus' comments on Cardona. Keefe hopes it could mean less than a year. Either way, it appears Cardona will miss at least the 2016 season and the recently signed former Cleveland Brown Christian Yount will be the Patriots' long snapper to start the season.
Jones makes it clear that this is a critique of Belichick, not Cardona.
Listen to the full podcast below:
UPDATE: Zolak & Bertrand had a hilarious response for Jones' hot take on Cardona.