On Monday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced the release of 11 players as they begin trimming their roster down to 53 players by Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. ET. Included in that list of 11 players announced by the Steelers was K Matthew Wright.
It’s worth noting, however, that Wright’s release did not show up on the official NFL transaction sheet Monday afternoon, the only name absent on the league’s sheet.
Might the Steelers have received trade inquiries prior to putting the paperwork in for Wright? That’s quite possible. There are usually a couple of cases each year of a media report announcing a player has been released but a trade being struck at the last second.
Remember, last year, the Steelers carried P Braden Mann and P Pressley Harvin III on the team’s initial 53-man roster. That led to speculation that they might ultimately trade one of the two punters. Ultimately, the Steelers traded neither Mann nor Harvin, cutting Mann on Aug. 30.
Matthew Wright signed a one-year, $1.055 million contract with the Steelers back in April, and he has been with the team ever since. He kicked a little during the preseason and made his only field goal attempt, a 26-yarder, in the preseason finale this past Saturday. Wright also missed an extra point attempt, though LS Christian Kuntz’s high snap was a big factor.
Wright has kicked for several NFL teams to date, so perhaps another club is interested in him. We’ll see. For his career, Wright has made 40-of-47 field goals (85.1 percent), including 6-of-9 from 50-plus yards. His leg strength has improved throughout his career, and he had a solid 2021 season with the Jacksonville Jaguars, making 87.5 percent of his kicks. He appeared in just one game last year, missing a 52-yarder in the regular season finale as a member of the Carolina Panthers.
There’s a chance that Wright’s paperwork submission merely missed the 4:00 p.m. Monday submission deadline as well. If that was the case, he should appear on the Tuesday transaction sheet. If he doesn’t show up on the Tuesday sheet, there’s a good chance the Steelers are having conversations about trading him.
