Kameron Canaday (born August 20, 1993) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

long snapper In American football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a center on special teams whose duty is to snap the football over a longer distance, typically around 15 yards during punts, and 7–8 yards during field goals and extra point attempt ...

who is a free agent. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

and signed with the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Early years

Canaday played

high school football High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...

at Sheldon High School in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast. As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...

, where he was a long snapper and

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

. He earned First-team All-Southwest League honors as a defensive lineman. He was rated one of the best long snappers in the country by Rubio Long Snapping. He helped the team advance to the

OSAA The Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) is a non-profit, board-governed organization that regulates high school athletics and competitive activities via athletic conferences in the U.S. state of Oregon, providing equitable competition amo ...

Class 6A state championship his senior year in 2011, where they lost to

Lake Oswego High School Lake Oswego High School (LOHS) is a public high school in Lake Oswego, Oregon, United States. History Lake Oswego High School first opened in September 1951 as a six-year school, with an enrollment of 564. In 1956, it became a four-year high sch ...

. He was also on the Sheldon High team that won the OSAA Class 6A state championship his sophomore year in 2009. He played basketball in high school as well.

College career

Canaday was a four-year starter at long snapper for the

Portland State Vikings Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon. The Vikings compete at the NCAA Division I level in basketball, soccer, volleyball, golf, ...

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the following two decades ...

from 2012 to 2015. He missed the first five games of his freshman season in 2012 while waiting for the NCAA to declare him eligible. He then started the final six games of the season and recorded one special teams tackle. He played in eleven games, all starts, for the Vikings in 2013 and missed one game due to injury. He appeared in 12 games, all starts, for the team in 2014 and made two special teams tackles. Prior to the 2015 season, he was named a preseason First-team All-American by Stats Inc., and was also named to the College Sporting News Preseason Fabulous 50 All-America Team. He played in all 12 games his senior year in 2015 and was named an FCS Third-team All-American. He also had a fumble recovery on a muffed punt in 2015. Canaday played in 41 games during his college career.

Professional career

Arizona Cardinals

Canaday signed with the

on May 2, 2016 after going undrafted in the

2016 NFL Draft The 2016 NFL Draft was the 81st annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players. As in 2015, the draft took place at the Auditorium Theatre and Grant Park in Chicago. The draft beg ...

. He won the Cardinals' long snapper job after a competition with fellow rookie Danny Dillon. Canaday played in three games for the team before being released on September 27, 2016. His release came two days after he botched a snap that was returned for a touchdown in a game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

. He also had a low snap on a potential game-tying field goal with under a minute to play in the Cardinals 23–21 loss in Week 1 to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

On February 21, 2017, Canaday was signed by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. He was released by the Steelers on May 5, 2017. He was re-signed on May 30, 2017. He was brought in to compete with rookie Colin Holba for the vacant long snapper position that was held by Greg Warren for 11 seasons. Canaday was named the Steelers' long snapper to begin the regular season. On March 18, 2020, Canaday re-signed with the Steelers on a two-year contract. On August 31, 2021, Canady was released after losing the starting job to

Christian Kuntz Christian Kuntz (born April 13, 1994) is an American football long snapper for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Duquesne. High school career Kuntz is the son of Kathy and Theo Kuntz ...

Chicago Bears

On January 3, 2023, Canaday was signed to the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

practice squad.

Personal life

Canaday's father played college football at

Western Oregon Western Oregon is a geographical term that is generally taken to mean the part of the U.S. state of Oregon within of the Oregon Coast, on the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. The term is applied somewhat loosely, however, and is somet ...

as a long snapper and defensive lineman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Canaday, Kameron Living people 1993 births Players of American football from Oregon Sportspeople from Eugene, Oregon American football long snappers Portland State Vikings football players Arizona Cardinals players Pittsburgh Steelers players Chicago Bears players