Kameron Canaday (born August 20, 1993) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

long snapper In gridiron football, the long snapper (or deep snapper) is a Center (gridiron football), center on American football positions#Special teams, special teams whose duty is to Snap (gridiron football), snap the football over a longer distance, ty ...

who played for 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) NFC West, West division. The ...

and

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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. 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 next ...

and signed with the Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2016.

Early life

Canaday played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Sheldon High School in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, where he was a

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 (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

. 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 a ...

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. It is part of the Lake Oswego School District. History Lake Oswego High School first opened in September 1951 as a six-year school, with an enrollment ...

. 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, t ...

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. 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 next ...

from 2012 to 2015. He missed the first five games of his freshman season in 2012 while waiting for the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

to declare him eligible. He then started the final six games of the season and recorded one

special teams In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their position. Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...

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 Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

. Prior to the 2015 season, he was named a preseason First-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

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 A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful h ...

recovery on a

muffed punt In gridiron football, a muffed punt is defined as "touching of the ball prior to possessing the ball.” A muffed punt occurs when there is an "uncontrolled touch" of the football by a player on the returning team after it is punted. This can occ ...

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 draft 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 A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

in a game against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

. He also had a low snap on a potential game-tying

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

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. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Pittsburgh Steelers

On February 21, 2017, Canaday was signed by the

. 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 Colin Holba (born July 8, 1994) is an American former professional football player who was a long snapper in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Louisville. Holba was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth ...

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.

Chicago Bears

On January 3, 2023, Canaday was signed to the

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

of 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

Personal life

Canaday's father played

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 state’s coastal region, on the west side of the crest of the Cascade Range. The term is applied somewhat loosely, howeve ...

as a long snapper and defensive lineman.

References

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