Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Pittsburgh Steelers will continue to use kicker Chris Boswell.
Boswell has been very poor for the Steelers special teams unit this season. Boswell has missed 11 kicks on the season. He's missed six field goals, kicking only 10-of-16, and five PATs, kicking only 39 of 44 on extra points. Last Sunday alone, Boswell missed two PATs in a loss against the Oakland Raiders. Boswell also missed a huge field goal attempt, slipping on the Oakland Coliseum turf, shanking an easy 40-yard attempt.
The Steelers' starting center and long-snapper Maurkice Pouncey is very supportive of his kicker.
“That's our guy. He won five games for us last year,” Pouncey told ESPN. “We love him to death. We support the hell out of him. Ain't no point in bringing in a kicker who ain't playing for 15 weeks, we have no feelings, no ties to him. He goes out and misses a kick, we're pissed off at that point. Boswell's a brother. I could see if he's the only kicker missing in the league, but look around.”
Head coach Mike Tomlin said after their Week 14 matchup that the team would hold open kicking tryouts.
This past August, the Steelers signed Boswell to a long-term deal. He would be making an estimated $20 million over five years, making him one the richest kickers with the best contract in the entire league. The contract had included a $6 million signing bonus, making his cap hit around $4.8 million next season.
The 2017 Pr0 Bowler has been the Steelers' starting kicker since the 2015 season. He was originally signed as an undrafted free agent with the Houston Texans. He spent time on the New York Giants' roster before joining the Steelers.
This past August, the Steelers signed Boswell to a five-year contract worth around $20 million, one of the richest in the league for kickers. The deal included a $6 million signing bonus, and cutting Boswell would count $4.8 million in dead money starting next season. From 2015 through 2017, Boswell made 85 of his 95 field goal attempts and was 99-of-102 on extra point attempts.
The 7-5-1 Steelers' next contest is Sunday against the New England Patriots.
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