SF 49ers: 4 low-profile free agents team should bring back in 2021
By Peter Panacy
No. 3: SF 49ers Long-Snapper Taybor Pepper
Specialists rarely get the attention they deserve, and perhaps no other spot on the roster commands less attention than long-snappers.
When they do their job well, no one notices. But when it’s bad, it’s awfully bad.
That was the case for former SF 49ers long-snapper Kyle Nelson, whose horrendous efforts in Week 3 last year versus the NY Giants ultimately resulted in his dismissal from the team.
If there was a silver lining from all that, though, it allowed the Niners to ink Taybor Pepper to replace Nelson, and the former would go on to provide his duties through Week 16 before landing on the reserve/COVID-19 list to close out the season.
His one-week fill-in replacement, Colin Holba, also struggled to get snaps off. Simply put, Pepper should be retained.
Pepper is a restricted free agent, making his retention a lot easier for San Francisco. And he’s become something of a unique follow on Twitter, too, providing the fanbase with a bit of a cult hero for those who enjoy specialists.
More importantly, the SF 49ers didn’t seem to have any long-snapping issues with Pepper performing his duties.