Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM DECEMBER 2025 41 BY TODD D. BURLAGE C arolina Panthers long snapper JJ Jansen has reached and crossed many milestones during his 17-plus years in the NFL. With 272 career games played — all with Carolina — the Phoenix native already holds the Panthers' franchise record for most appearances. The three- time team captain has also never missed a regular-season game since he joined the franchise in 2009. Jansen, 39, currently trails only time- less tight end Marcedes Lewis (288) for the most games played by an active NFL player. When Jansen took the field against the Falcons Nov. 16, he became one of only 28 NFL players all time to play in 270 games, and there doesn't ap- pear to be anything to slow him down. "To have a career like that, it's unbe- lievable," Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton said of Jansen in a story for The Charlotte Observer. "You know he's getting the most out of the game." One longevity record that Jansen doesn't hold, at least not yet, is the most NFL games ever played by an undrafted Notre Dame alum. That record currently belongs to place- kicker John Carney, who played at Notre Dame from 1984-86, and then appeared in 302 career NFL games from 1988-2010. Jansen — who played at Notre Dame from 2004-07 — would need to play only two more seasons to catch and pass Carney, and there is no reason to believe he won't do so. AN UNLIKELY ARRIVAL How Jansen ended up in Carolina is an interesting story of its own. A season-ending knee injury dur- ing training camp while playing for the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2008 caused Jansen to be cut from Green Bay. Fully recovered but unemployed be- fore the 2009 season, Jansen said the si- lence was deafening as he and his agent waited to hear from another team, any team, looking for a long snapper. "One night turned into two, two into three," Jansen recalled. By chance, while training back home in Phoenix, Jansen began working out with then-Panthers long snapper Jason Kyle, another undrafted free agent who lived nearby. It was at the gym that Kyle told Jan- sen that the Panthers had moved on, and Kyle's days playing in Charlotte were over. Ironically, the Panthers be- came interested in Jansen and traded a seventh-round conditional draft pick to the Packers for Jansen's rights. The paperwork was filed, and Jansen had a new opportunity, if only he could figure out how to get to it first. "I didn't know where Carolina was, I didn't know anything about Charlotte at all," Jansen said. "So, on a Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. local Phoenix time, I'm laying in bed. The next morning, I was on a flight and doing workouts at Bank of America Stadium, and I didn't even know where I was." The trade conditions were that the Packers would get a seventh-round draft pick from Carolina in 2011 if Jan- sen could stay on the Panthers' active roster for at least five games in 2009. Jansen will pass that mark by 268 games when he takes the field against the Rams Nov. 30. Ranked 22nd all time in NFL games played, Jansen has learned that there is an art to long snapping that goes be- yond simply whipping the ball back to a punter or a holder as fast as possible, and he's never shy to share. "I talk with young long snappers all the time," he said. "We need good laces. We need to be accurate. We need to pro- tect. There's a lot to it." A few words of wisdom from one of the best ever at his position. ✦ FIGHTING IRISH HEADLINERS Nick McCloud (Played at Notre Dame in 2020), CB, Chicago Bears, NFL The Rock Hill, S.C., native recorded a season-high 7 tackles to help preserve a thrilling 31-28 win for the Bears over the Pittsburgh Steelers Nov. 23. The well-traveled five-year NFL veteran has become a rotational regular in the Bears' defensive secondary and had 24 tackles through 11 games with Chicago. Kyle Palmieri (2009-10), C, New York Islanders, NHL The Smithtown, N.Y., native tallied 1 goal and 1 assist in a 3-2 win over the Dal- las Stars Nov. 18. It marked the third time this season that the former Irish winger scored multiple points in the same NHL game. Through games as of Nov. 23, Palmieri had 6 goals and 11 assists for the second- place Islanders. Xavier Watts, (2020-24), S, Atlanta Falcons, NFL The Minneapolis native recorded 6 tackles, his third interception of the season and 1 pass defended in a 24-10 win over the New Orleans Saints Nov. 23. For the season through 11 games, the NFL All-Rookie Team candidate ranked third on the Falcons with 64 tackles. He led the team with 3 interceptions and was tied for second with 6 passes defended. Seventeen Years In, Panthers Long Snapper JJ Jansen Still Going Strong In The NFL I R I S H I N T H E P R O S W ith 272 career games played — all with Carolina — Jansen holds the Panthers' franchise record for most appearances, and he ranks 22nd all time in NFL history in the category. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP