Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell is set to become a restricted free agent in about a month from now and because of that, he’ll likely receive a second-round tender from the team in the coming weeks and ultimately a new long-term contract later on in the summer. Boswell, who was voted to the Pro Bowl this past season, has been quite a find for the Steelers.
So just how good has Boswell been during his first three seasons in the NFL? As Dom Rinelli, the Steelers PR/Media Manager, pointed out on Monday, Boswell now has an 89.5% career field goal conversion rate and only three other kickers in NFL history have posted a higher rate in a player’s first 3 years and a minimum of 90 total attempts. Those three players are Dan Bailey, Justin Tucker and Mike Vanderjagt.
#Steelers K Chris Boswell has converted 89.5% (85-95) of his field goal attempts in his 1st 3 NFL seasons.
Only 3 other kickers in NFL history have a higher conversion rate in a player’s 1st 3 years (min 90 att.):
Bailey 90.8 (89-98)
Tucker 89.8 (97-108)
Vanderjagt 89.6 (86-96)— Dom Rinelli (@drinelli) February 12, 2018
If not for the Steelers having kicker issues at the start of the 2015 regular season, Boswell might not even be in the NFL right now. The Rice product entered the NFL in 2014 as an undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans and even though he made both of his field goal attempts for them during the preseason, he missed two extra points and was ultimately waived by them late that August.
After spending a week on the Texans practice squad early during his rookie season, Boswell wasn’t signed by a team until January of 2015. That team was the New York Giants. With the Giants, Boswell made all four of his field goal attempts for them during the 2015 preseason yet still found himself out of work come the start of the regular season.
After veteran kicker Josh Scobee missed four field goal attempts and an extra point in the Steelers first four games of the 2015 regular season, the team needed to find a replacement for him in a hurry. Boswell ultimately won the kicking tryout over veteran kickers Kai Forbath and Randy Bullock and he did so in horrible weather conditions as it was reportedly rainy and windy that day. Boswell made his NFL debut with the Steelers in Week 5 of the 2015 season against the San Diego Chargers and he’s been their kicker ever since.
Boswell, who has registered 354 total regular season points with the Steelers, is currently 11th overall on their all-time scoring list. He’ll need to kick several more years with the Steelers if he wants to become their leading point-scorer as former kicker Gary Anderson has long held that distinction with 1343 points.
