Getty Don Muhlbach during a game with the Lions.
The more things change with the Detroit Lions, the more they stay the same in some key aspects. In a wild offseason of shift, it was only fair that something normal happen for the squad.
Enter Don Muhlbach, Detroit’s veteran long-snapper. Muhlbach was a free agent coming into this offseason, and unsure if he would snap again. Fans were likely worried about losing the veteran.
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They can put their worried minds to rest. Friday morning, the Lions revealed that they had re-signed Muhlbach to a new contract, bringing him back for yet another season.
Return of the 🐐
As the saying goes for Lions fans, death, taxes and Muhlbach. Once again, the veteran will be in charge of snapping the ball, and will be the longest-tenured player on special teams again given some of the changes that have already played out within that group.
Don Muhlbach Biography
The former Texas A&M product broke into. the league as an undrafted free agent in 2004. Though he started his career with the Baltimore Ravens, he has been the Detroit snapper ever since and has seen plenty along the way, both good and bad. He witnessed the Lions go 0-16 in 2008, but then was there as they returned to the playoffs in 2011, 2014 and 2017. While he’s never won a title or an NFC North, the rally cry for the team could become win one for Muhlbach these next few years if he continues to stick it out on the field for the team.
Muhlbach has been a Pro Bowler a pair of times in his career, in 2012 and 2018. He’s also been the team’s nominee for the Art Rooney Award before, which shows the class that Muhlbach has on the field and the respect he has across the league for what he does.
The hope for Lions fans is that Muhlbach decides to give it another go and can compete for that long-awaited success he hasn’t seen in Detroit.
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Lions Special Teams Seeing Changes
The turnover is going to be strong on the Detroit side of things on the spot on the team, considering that Matt Prater is leaving as well as kick returner Jamal Agnew. New special teams coach Dave Fipp has his work cut out for him in terms of trying to get the group into shape, but it’s clear that a veteran kicker was a big part of the insurance policy that was needed for this team. Matthew Wright has not kicked in the NFL outside of going 8-8 on field goals, so it’s possible the team wants to make him earn the job and not hand it to him. If that is the case, they made an interesting choice in Randy Bullock to replace Prater and try to push him.
Perhaps the only veteran player of the group will be punter Jack Fox, but will change now that the team is bringing back Muhlbach for another run.
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