With P Pressley Harvin III missing a second straight game due to a hamstring injury, the Pittsburgh Steelers have once again elevated punter Brad Wing, the team announced today. He’ll serve as Pittsburgh’s starting punter against the Baltimore Ravens tomorrow. The Steelers also elevated OL Ryan McCollum, who will serve as the backup center for Pittsburgh tomorrow.
Wing made his 2023 debut, and first appearance in the NFL since 2017, in Pittsburgh’s 30-6 loss against the Houston Texans in Week 4. Wing was busy, punting five times with an average of 47.6 yards per punt and a long of 52 yards.
He revived his career with a strong performance during a tenure with the Hines Ward-led San Antonio Brahmas of the XFL, and his first action with Pittsburgh this season was solid. Wing also punted for the Steelers in 2014, and the 3,193 days between appearances with the Steelers marked the third-longest stretch between games played in team history.
Wing’s story is impressive, overcoming substance abuse issues to return to football. He’s clearly appreciative of the opportunity he has with the Steelers, and it’ll be fun to watch and see if he can continue to make an impact in Pittsburgh.
Harvin will take over as the team’s starting punter when he returns to full health, likely after the team’s bye. But it would be awesome if Wing had an impact in a Pittsburgh victory and was able to help the team pull off an upset over the Baltimore Ravens in his return to the team.
With just seven healthy offensive linemen due to injuries to OT Dan Moore Jr. and OG James Daniels, the Steelers elevated Ryan McCollum to the active roster in addition to Wing. With Nate Herbig starting at right guard in place of the injured James Daniels, McCollum will serve as Pittsburgh’s backup center behind Mason Cole.
McCollum entered the NFL in 2021 with the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Texas A&M. He has logged 100 NFL snaps at the center position and those came as a rookie in 2021 with the Detroit Lions. Those snaps came in four total games in which he started just one of them. While McCollum did log 847 total snaps at center in college, he was essentially just a one-year starter at Texas A&M at that position.
He’s spent most of the past two seasons on Pittsburgh’s practice squad, and this preseason he recorded a 53.5 Pro Football Focus grade in 106 snaps, 43 of which came at center with the Steelers. He also had 33 snaps at left guard and 30 at right guard.
