The Pittsburgh Steelers currently have two punters under contract and another one will reportedly be brought in for a tryout early next week.
According to Farhan Lalji of TSN, free agent punter/kicker Richie Leone will workout for the Steelers on Tuesday.
Leone’s name should sound familiar as he was a member of the Steelers back in 2015. He failed to make it to the start of training camp that year, however, as the Steelers waived him in May of 2015.
Leone originally signed in 2014 with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Houston. During the 2014 preseason he punted just twice for a 41 yard average. Leone finished his college career second on Houston’s all-time punting list with a 43.1 career average and helped lead the team to a No. 3 national ranking in net punting at 41.4 yards per punt. 34 of his 73 punts (46.6%) landed inside the 20-yard line, which ranked third in the NCAA.
Since being cut by the Steelers in 2015, Leone has been with the BC Lions (2015–2016), Arizona Cardinals (2017) and Ottawa Redblacks (2018–2019). After the CFL canceled their 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Leone opted out of his contract with the Redblacks on August 25, 2020.
Leone, a three-time CFL all-star punter, lead the league in punting average in 2015 and 2016 (49.5 and 49.3). He has played 71 CFL career games, punting 472 times for 22,809 gross yards (48.3 average). Leone’s longest career punt in the CFL is 83 yards.
Leone can also kick field goals in a pinch.
The Steelers two other punters currently under contract are veteran Jordan Berry and rookie Corliss Waitman.
