Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham spent the entire 2015 season on the team’s Reserve/Injured list as a result of a knee injury suffered during the Hall of Fame game to kick off the preseason. While that injury took place in August, Suisham apparently won’t be kicking any footballs in the very near future.
“(Kicking) still a long ways off,” Suisham said Monday, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
Suisham suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee when his left foot stuck in the FieldTurf at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio during the Steelers preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings. He underwent surgery to repair the injury a short time after it occurred.
While Suisham is currently under contract for the 2016 season, he certainly isn’t a lock to be the Steelers kicker next year now that the team has found a cheaper and younger alternative in Chris Boswell, who was signed during Week 5 of the season after the team parted ways with ineffective veteran Josh Scobee.
Suisham is scheduled to earn a base salary of $2.4 million in 2016 while Boswell is currently slated to earn just $525,000 next season. The two are expected to compete against each other in training camp later on this year and should Boswell win the job, the Steelers will likely try to trade Suisham for a late-round draft pick before the final round of cuts.
Suisham has been the Steelers kicker since midway through the 2010 season when he was signed off of the street to replace Jeff Reed.
