CHARLOTTE – Veteran long snapper JJ Jansen, who was set to enter free agency, has signed a five-year contract.
"I feel honored that Coach (Ron) Rivera, Mr. (Dave) Gettleman and Mr. (Jerry) Richardson trust me in the role that I play on this team," Jansen said. "I want to be here. It's a great organization. We've made Charlotte our home for the past seven years and going forward long after football is done, this will be home for us."
Jansen originally came to Carolina in 2009 after a trade with the Green Bay Packers for a conditional draft choice, and he's been the team's long snapper ever since.
"(Former general manager) Marty Hurney traded for me. I hadn't even played in a regular season game, but he saw something in me that he was willing to trade for," Jansen said. "I've just always felt like it's my job to take care of this position and make it easy on the punter and kicker."
In seven seasons with the Panthers, while handling more than 1,000 snaps on punts, field goals and extra points, Jansen has just one bad snap of note – on a punt in the 2010 season opener when the ball slipped out of his hands. Since then, he's executed more than 600 snaps without fail.
"He's consistent, and that's the first thing you look for," special teams coordinator Bruce DeHaven said. "He's earned this. He affects the entire special teams. He's got some size, he's very smart and he's got a lot of leadership ability. I can't say enough great things about him."
