Buy Or Sell: The Steelers should target a punter in unrestricted free agency.
Explanation: The Steelers have no punter after releasing Pressley Harvin III; ergo, they need one. Rather than using another draft pick on the position, they could take advantage of the market. Top-end punters will not destroy your salary cap.
Buy:
Well that says it all, doesn’t it? Top-end punters will not destroy your salary cap. The Steelers offense is going to need help on special teams this year to secure field position. That includes giving the defense long fields to defend.
Right now, no punter makes even $4 million per season. The Steelers may not be swimming in cap space, but they can swing that to solve a years-long problem. And there are some good, even familiar, names on the market this year.
Let’s start with the familiar. The Steelers brought in Braden Mann to compete with Harvin last year. He lost. Then he had a very good season with the Philadelphia Eagles. He punted to a gross average of 49.8 and a net average of 43.8. Those are damn solid numbers. He also had just one touchback with 34.1 percent of his punts inside the 20.
If that doesn’t suit your interests, how about Tommy Townsend of the Kansas City Chiefs? He has a 47.1-yard career gross average and a 42.8-yard net average. That’s over a four-year period. He posted a 42.3-yard net average during the Chiefs’ 2023 postseason run. And he’s on the market, or at least could be.
Three of 2023’s top-10 punters in net average are free agents: Rigoberto Sanchez of the Indianapolis Colts and Cameron Johnston of the Houston Texans in addition to Mann. Not all of them are likely to hit the market, but perhaps at least one will. And if they do, the Steelers need to get him to solve their punting problems. Give the offense all the help it can get.
Sell:
Chances are this is the year the punter salary pushes north of $4 million at the top end. That’s still relatively cheap, but also still a luxury for a team like the Steelers. They are already paying a kicker $5 million a year for the next few years. They aren’t even compliant with the salary cap right now.
While they don’t have to sign a ton of their own free agents, there are still enough holes to consider. And the majority of punters, including successful punters, go undrafted. You don’t have to sign a punter in free agency, nor do you have to use a draft pick.
Perhaps more productive is reviewing the special teams coaching staff. The Steelers have fewer assistants than most teams. Why not hire a designated punting coach? They’ve had special teams assistants before. They don’t currently. Invest more in development rather than research. Most punters improve upon their college days in the NFL.
With the Steelers’ 2023 season in the rearview mirror following a disappointing year that came up short in the playoffs once again, it’s time to start asking more questions. Questions about the team’s future in 2024 and beyond. Questions about The Standard.
The rookie class of a year ago was on the whole impressive, but they need to step up into staple starters in 2024. And they likely need a strong influx of talent in both free agency and in the 2024 NFL draft yet again. In addition to a revisitation of the coaching staff.
These sorts of uncertainties are what I will look to address in our Buy or Sell series. In each installment, I will introduce a topic statement and weigh some of the arguments for either buying it (meaning that you agree with it or expect it to be true) or selling it (meaning you disagree with it or expect it to be false).
