The NFL preseason is a ruthless beast. In front of the home crowd at Accrisure Stadium for the first time, Pittsburgh Steelers fans have already had to watch two key players leave the contest.
The first was edge linebacker Nick Herbig after he suffered a hamstring injury. Unfortunately, just as Steelers fans were getting news of his injury, long snapper Christian Kuntz stepped into the blue medical tent for evaluation after making a tackle on special teams.
Kuntz reportedly suffered a chest injury and has been ruled out of for the remainder of the game.
Unexpected injury forces the Pittsburgh Steelers to adjust on special teams
Injuries to longsnappers are always tough. Even in the preseason, most teams carry just one, just as the Steelers do this year. Luckily, every team works to be prepared with an emergency long snapper.
That man for the Steelers is defensive lineman Logan Lee. He didn’t have to wait long to get his first rep, and thankfully, he delivered a catchable snap to holder/punter Cameron Johnston for the Steelers’ first point after attempt. He later followed up with another clean snap to Johnston for a punt.
At least for the rest of this preseason contest, the Steelers will have to lean on Lee as the long snapper. We’ll learn more about the severity of Kuntz’s injury after the game, which will determine how hard the Steelers will have to look for a replacement if Kuntz is unavailable for long.
The 31-year-old out of local Duquesne hasn’t missed a regular-season start in four seasons since taking over as Pittsburgh’s longsnapper in 2021.