He may have only been with the team for two weeks, but P Brad Wing knows what those two weeks meant for him and his professional career in football.
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Wing to their practice squad as their punter Pressley Harvin III dealt with a hamstring injury. Wing would be called up to the active roster for Pittsburgh’s last two games against the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens, punting 11 times in those contests for 495 yards (45 yards per punt) with two touchbacks and two punts downed inside the 20-yard line.
Earlier today, Pittsburgh announced that they were releasing Wing from their practice squad as the team heads into the bye week, likely expecting Harvin to be ready to roll once the team gets back to prepare for their Week Seven matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. Despite being released from the practice squad, Wing went to Instagram to thank Pittsburgh for giving him another shot in the league as well as motivating others to continue to pursue their dreams.
“Man, these past 2 weeks have been crazy,” Wing said on his Instagram account. “Firstly, the Steelers have made my dreams become a reality, twice in the same lifetime. For that, I am forever grateful. That’s a special place. And secondly, please don’t ever give up on yourself. No matter how bad it seems, no matter how hard it gets, keep going! You are stronger than you think. Much luv to anyone and everyone who’s been a part of this journey. I’m hungryyyyyyyy.”
Wing previously played for the Steelers back in 2014 and got traded to the New York Giants in 2015 after losing the punting battle to long-time Steelers P Jordan Berry. Wing would punt for the Giants from 2015-2017, ultimately falling out of the league altogether until signing with Pittsburgh a few weeks ago. Wing did punt for the Memphis Express of the AAF back in 2019 and with the XFL San Antonio Brahmas during their 2023 season, punting 42 times and averaging 47.9 yards per punt.
Wing was out of the league for six years, a timeframe where most would have called it quits. But Wing managed to stay in the game at the lower levels, relishing that opportunity to punt again on football’s greatest stage. He received that opportunity in the place where his punting career in the league began in Pittsburgh, getting an opportunity to play for head coach Mike Tomlin again as the connections to former players still hold true. Hopefully, Wing’s recent performance will give him another opportunity with another team in the league, having waited patiently for his chance and successfully having seized the moment.
