If Seahawks lost Tyler Ott they should sign Nate Boyer again

If the Seahawks needed a new long snapper after an unfortunate injury to Tyler Ott, then the first thing Seattle should do is re-sign Nate Boyer.

I do not write the following because I want Seahawks long snapper Tyler Ott to get hurt. Ott is everything a team would want in a long snapper. He is consistent with his snaps, doesn’t give up blocked kicks and doesn’t get hurt. But what if he did? Then Seattle should re-sign Nate Boyer.

I realize Boyer hasn’t played football in five seasons but does anyone doubt that Boyer, an ex-Green Beret, is not still in shape enough to play professional football? Of course, he is. Plus, Nate Boyer would work his butt off to make sure the correct thing is done when he snaps the ball. A defensive lineman trying to impose his will on Boyer? Please.

But Boyer doesn’t come without experience when it comes to long snaps. He started 38 straight games for the Texas Longhorns as one. This was after, of course, Boyer served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like I said, an NFL lineman scaring Boyer isn’t going to happen.

Boyer and Colin Kaepernick

This is the same Nate Boyer who suggested to Colin Kaepernick that Kaepernick kneel instead of sit during the national anthem. Boyer suggested this to Kaepernick in a meeting they had in 2016 because the two decided to sit down and talk and keep open minds about the other’s potential point of view.

At the time the NFL had difficulties wrapping its head around what Kaepernick was trying to do or say. In 2020, things have changed and hopefully for the better. If Kaepernick had kept sitting instead of Boyer’s suggestion of kneeling, things might be the same in the NFL’s view in 2020 as it was in 2016.

Boyer taught himself how to long snap by watching YouTube videos. He then went to play for Texas and was a long snapper for three years straight. There is no doubt that if Ott were to go down, Boyer would answer the call, just as he has so many calls before.

He might even love the chance. The Seahawks should sign Boyer if they have to due to injury. And heck, while Seattle is signing people, maybe they should sign Kaepernick to back up Russell Wilson too. Colin Kaepernick is a near-perfect fit for the Seahawks offense after Wilson.

Plus, Kaepernick and Boyer on the same team make sense and might show the world things can be OK if two people talk about the issues.

In this somewhat imaginable world I am making up, if Boyer were to play any with the Seahawks in 2020, he also might retire after the season. If he did, the Seahawks should make a special place for Nate Boyer in the team’s Ring of Honor. Because after all, that is what the Ring of Honor is for: Heroes.