Ravens breaking up ‘the wolfpack’ by moving on from long snapper Morgan Cox

It’s the end of an era and the Baltimore Ravens are officially breaking up “the wolfpack.” The Ravens won’t be re-signing long snapper Morgan Cox this offseason, according to Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic and Jamison Hensley of ESPN.

Long snappers don’t get much attention in the NFL unless they’ve seriously messed up, and in those situations, they’re usually cut not long after. In fact, I’d be willing to bet most fans couldn’t name more than one long snapper from memory. But Baltimore embraced Cox throughout his 11 seasons with the team as a member of “the wolfpack” — a trio with kicker Justin Tucker and punter Sam Koch. Unfortunately, the business side of the NFL rears its ugly head in situations like these.

While the Ravens’ special teams unit has had so much success over Cox’s 11 seasons in Baltimore, he’s 34 years old and one of the highest-paid long snappers in the game. Now the Ravens appear set to turn to Nick Moore, a former XFL long snapper who came in clutch for the Ravens in Week 12 against the Pittsburgh Steelers while Cox was on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

It’s a decision that won’t get much attention if Moore performs well but it’ll become an anchor around the team’s neck if Tucker struggles next season. I once sat down with former Ravens kicker Matt Stover, who pointed to the continuity being a big part of what makes Baltimore’s special teams unit so great.