Pittsburgh Steelers: Position battles at kicker and punter

The Steelers have several position battles on offense and defense. There is competition on special teams too. Jordan Berry and Chris Boswell will have to earn it.

For the Steelers, there is no shortage of positions where there is competition. Positions like right tackle or inside linebacker have a front runner but who will eventually hold those positions cannot be taken for granted. Others, like the no. 2 wide out, are almost completely up for grabs. The kicker and punter positions deserve as much attention as any.

The motivation for the Steelers to force some competition is likely performance. Jordan Berry performed adequately but can be inconsistent. Calling Chris Boswell’s 2018 season disappointing is an understatement. It was awful.

So the Steelers brought in one alternative for each position, just in case Boswell and Berry don’t perform well enough, or if the new guys do especially well, or a combination of both.

So let’s look at who is up for the job.

Kickers

Chris Boswell

Chris Boswell was the special teams savior of 2015. After Shaun Suisham was injured, Boswell ended up the fourth and final placekicker they signed for the season. He did great at a notoriously difficult job: kicking in Heinz Field.

His terrific career culminated in a 2017 Pro Bowl appearance, but last season he lost it. He made an abysmal 65% of his field goals and didn’t even crack 90% on the extra points.

There’s a lot of love for Boswell in Pittsburgh but that’s not going to be enough. If he can shake it off and get back to 2017, or even 2016, then the job is his. If he’s kicking 65% though, then the Steelers can’t afford to let goodwill and an old resume carry him through another season as the starting kicker.

Matthew Wright

Wright was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Steelers. He’s coming out of UCF where he made 77.4% of field goals and 98.5% of his extra points. He’s no 2017 Boswell. But he’s no 2018 Boswell either.

Unless Wright takes his game to another level then whether he is successful in making the team depends on what version of Boswell comes to camp. Given the contract Boswell signed last year, the Steelers will be reluctant to drop Boswell, so Wright needs to clearly establish he is the better option.

Punters

Jordan Berry

Berry, like Boswell, joined the Steelers in 2015. He came all the way from Australia to punt in Pittsburgh. He’s performed adequately but not so well that a little competition would be unwarranted.

This isn’t the first time the Steelers have auditioned possible replacements either. Berry is not Boswell though. Boswell reached the peak of the field and fell to the bottom, Berry has just been consistently middling.

Berry is actually pretty good with accuracy, but he’s among the worst performers in the league when it comes to distance. He’s serviceable, but can easily be replaced.

Ian Berryman

Berryman was signed out of Western Carolina as an undrafted free agent. He averaged 43.8 yards per punt. Berryman finds himself in the opposite circumstance as Wright.

While Wright’s fate is to some degree a function of how Boswell does, Berryman is the master of his own destiny here. It is unlikely Berry will enter camp performing any different than he has in the past. Berryman has a clear target. If he can hit it, then he’ll win the job.

NFL teams don’t keep multiple kickers or punters. There can only be one. We’ll see who ends up holding the spot when the season begins.