LS Joe Cardona -- another player with a very specific skill set -- is close to re-upping with Patriots

Let’s hear it for the specialists.

Long snapper Joe Cardona — another player with a very specific skill set — is close to netting a four-year extension from the Patriots, a source confirmed on Thursday.


The 26-year-old Cardona is a 6-foot-3, 226-pounder who has been with New England the last three seasons. In that time, he’s been the only long snapper on the roster.

As we noted here, while Bill Belichick and the Patriots really love players who can do multiple things, they also make sure they lock down their own players who have a very specific skill set. (Like they did with fullback James Develin earlier in the day on Thursday.) And truth be told, you don’t get much more specific than Cardona, who was a fifth-round pick out of Navy in 2015.

Cardona, who was entering the final year of his rookie deal, is now signed through 2022.