Background
Joe Cardona grew up in El Cajon, California, the son of Patrick and Margaret Cardona.
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Joe Cardona
Edit ProfileEducation
He attended Granite Hills High School, lettering two years in football and four years in lacrosse, earning conference lacrosse Most Valuable Player as a senior.
Career
As a graduate of the United States. Naval Academy, Cardona is also an officer in the United States. Navy. Cardona was drafted in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football for Navy.
He is only the fourth player designated as a long snapper ever to be drafted, and the second highest-drafted long snapper in NFL history, after Ryan Pontbriand.
Joe has two older siblings Arthur and Adrienne Hernandez, and one younger sister Sophia Cardona. He graduated in 2010.
After high school, Cardona attended the Naval Academy Preparatory School for one year before enrolling in the Naval Academy, where he majored in economics. At Navy, he was a four-year starter in football as a long snapper, where he was not charged with a single bad snap.
During his four years at Navy, the Midshipmen compiled a 30–21 record, including four wins over arch-rival Army, and played in three bowl games.
On May 2, 2015, the New England Patriots selected Cardona in the fifth round (166th overall) of the 2015 NFL draft, making him the fourth pure long snapper to be drafted in NFL history (and the second drafted by the Patriots, after Jake Ingram). His Naval assignment has been delayed until after the 2015 NFL season so that he will be able to play in the NFL. The Patriots officially signed Cardona to his rookie contract on June 4, 2015. The structure of his contract is unusual, reflecting the uncertainty of his availability in future seasons.
The signing bonus of $100,000 is less than the expected bonus of about $190,000 expected for his draft slot, but he can earn $100,000 in roster bonuses if he is on the 53-man roster or an injury list at any point in 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons.
