Evidently, LB Nick Kwiatkoski isn’t the only player signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week. According to the SpecialTeamsU Twitter account, long snapper Rex Sunahara is signing with the Steelers as well. The account tweeted the news a short time ago, calling Sunahara one of their clients. The account is run by Kyle Stelter, who trains many long snappers around the league.
This isn’t Sunahara’s first stop with the team. He was signed late in 2021 to the team’s practice squad as a COVID insurance policy and then carried in 2022 before being released following the team’s rookie minicamp. He reportedly had a tryout with the team during OTAs earlier this month.
One of the tallest long snappers at 6’6, he transferred from Rhode Island to West Virginia and earned the starting job there. After going undrafted, he spent time with the Miami Dolphins before being signed by Pittsburgh.
The Steelers have looked at several long snappers since May. They brought in veteran TE Nick Boyle, making the change to long snapper following a serious knee injury, for rookie minicamp but did not sign him. They also tried out XFL snapper Antonio Ortiz last month.
As the above tweet notes, Sunahara will compete with incumbent Christian Kuntz this summer. Kuntz has served as Pittsburgh’s long snapper for the last two years but is coming off a shaky 2022 season.
When the signing becomes official, the Steelers will need to make a roster move in order to add Kwiatkoski and Sunahara onto their 90-man offseason squad. The current roster sits at 89 following safety Scott Nelson being waived Friday.
