The Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex earlier than they had anticipated, having been ousted before they even reached the postseason, which unfortunately marks the sixth consecutive season in which they failed to win a postseason game—tying their longest drought of the Super Bowl era. Yet again, they find themselves undergoing the exit meeting process earlier than anticipated, which means so are we.
The Steelers did arguably perform at or above expectations this year by going 9-8 and nearly making the postseason at all, a reflection of just how much talent they lost during the offseason, from Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Haden to most of their wide receiver room, not to mention Stephon Tuitt’s decision to retire.
While we might not know all the details about what goes on between head coach Mike Tomlin and his players during these exit meetings, we do know how we would conduct those meetings if they were let up to us. So here are the Depot’s exit meetings for the Steelers’ roster following the 2022 season.
Player: Christian Kuntz
Position: LS
Experience: 3 Years
It’s that time for the most important and most popular article of the year: the exit meeting article for the Steelers’ long snapper. Approximately 230 people are likely to read this, or at least click on it before deciding they need to make better decisions with their lives.
So what is there to say about Christian Kuntz, who has been the Steelers’ long snapper for the past two seasons? Well, first and foremost, I can’t pretend to be an expert on the long snapper position. And even though he has a background as a linebacker, he did only record one tackle in 2022 (he had two in 2021).
He was also penalized once last season, flagged for a hold in the opening game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals. That came on a 60-yard punt for a touchback from punter Pressley Harvin III, which put the Bengals on the 30-yard line with a 30-yard overall net on the play. And that came with six minutes to go in regulation in a one-score game.
Generally speaking, Kuntz is not viewed as being among the better long snappers in the NFL. In terms of snap accuracy, there were a decent handful of occasions on which Harvin had to save his bacon by fielding a wild ball.
It might be worth noting that kicker Chris Boswell had his worst season in a number of years, though he also had one of his best the year before, also with Kuntz as long snapper. But for the most part, unless your long snapper is launching the ball over your kicker or punter’s head or getting bowled over regularly, this isn’t exactly the most urgent position to address. You just don’t want to have a bad one, and the Steelers don’t.
