Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2022 season is over, the team finishing above .500 but failing to make the postseason, we turn our attention to the offseason and everything that means. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on broader contexts, reflecting on a player’s development, either positively or negatively, over the course of the season. Other evaluations will reflect only one immediate event or trend. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: LS Rex Sunahara
Stock Value: Purchased
Reasoning: The Steelers recently announced the signing of long snapper Rex Sunahara, who is no stranger to the organization. This is the third time he has signed a contract with them, though this time he hopes it lasts a lot longer.
It seems as though the Steelers have been exploring their options for a challenger to long snapper Christian Kuntz since at least the end of last season. They were working out long snappers back in December, and have tried out a number of options this offseason.
Evidently they finally found one that they liked, because they announced earlier this week the signing of Rex Sunahara, with whom they already had a prior relationship, albeit a miniscule one. He spent about two days on the practice squad in December of 2021, but then was re-signed to a Reserve/Future contract at the end of the year, only to be waived just before rookie minicamp.
Notably, they never signed another long snapper that offseason, allowing Kuntz to handle all of the duties for the remainder of the offseason, and of course throughout the regular season. They never added any other one this offseason, either, until the signing of Sunahara. Even Kuntz was unsigned until the middle of February, interestingly.
A West Virginia graduate, Sunahara only played long snapper in college but has a history of playing wide receiver and defensive back at the high school level. He most recently played for the XFL’s San Antonio Brahmas, who are coached by former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward.
One thing to note about the newcomer is that he continues the mold the Steelers have long pursued for long snappers, opting for bigger-bodied players at a position that has gotten smaller over time. Sunahara has the size of a linebacker at 6’6”, 242 pounds. Kuntz is only 6’1” and 228 pounds in comparison, though he does have background of actually playing linebacker.
Either way, unless Sunahara is cut yet again in the next month, it seems as though Kuntz will have a challenger in training camp this year after being left to his own devices last season. One can fairly wonder if that doesn’t have something to do with another competition at punter as well. The Steelers also have two kickers under contract, though it would take quite a lot for Chris Boswell to be dethroned.
