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Pittsburgh Steelers Will Have A Tough Time Replacing Shaun Suisham
Posted On Aug 11 2015
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The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ed Bouchette, who noted that former Bowling Green standout was the Steelers’ most accurate kicker of all time, said that the probable cause of the injury was the old turf of the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio where the game was held. To make matters worse, the Steelers lost to the Vikings, 14-3. Ugh.
Tomlin rested all kinds of veterans in the first of five preseason games for Pittsburgh this year, but since Suisham was the only kicker, he had to kick.
Suisham, the only kicker on the Steelers’ 90-man roster, suffered the injury while attempting to make a tackle on the opening kickoff of the second half.
The Steelers are expected to place Suisham on injured reserve, ending his season.
Pittsburg is now in the process of finding a suitable replacement for Suisham and have contacted several ones, such as Garret Hartley, Alex Henery, and Jay Feely, for a tryout, according to the NFL’s official website.
Yes, I know this is very reactionary and after the fact, but if your going to protect an investment you just signed to a four-year extension last season, then why not go that extra mile? Both Cundiff and Graham have the most experience kicking at Heinz Field. For the preseason, it would not be a big deal to have a usual punter getting some reps as a kicker; however, the Steelers can be legitimate contenders in the AFC this upcoming season, so they would be better off signing a legitimate, veteran place kicker.
Whether it is one of these three or someone else, it will be tough for anyone to duplicate the success of Suisham. After three strong seasons in which he made 86 percent of his kicks with the Eagles, the 27-year-old was cut last summer and ended up in Detroit, where he was dismissed after missing three field goals in one game. His 90.3% was tied for fifth in the NFL last season.
As NFL.com notes, while it would seem a small thing to be able to replace a placekicker, steady, consistent and clutch ones are very hard to come by.
