Pittsburgh Steelers trying out new kickers
It appears as through the Pittsburgh Steelers are ready to part ways with their long time kicker, Jeff Reed. They plan to give several free agents a chance to try-out for the team, starting with Shaun Suisham on Tuesday.
Reed is the Steelers all-time leading scorer, but has been plagued with inconsistency this season. In his career Reed has 204 successful field goals and 307 extra points for a total of 919 points. He’s been successful in 81.9 per cent of his field goals
over his career, but is only hitting 68.2 per cent of his attempts this season. His worst year was 2002 when he hit 71.9 per cent.
Reed has been frustrated this season both on and off the field. He was disappointed in the way his contract was handled, and he had complaints about the conditions of the turf at Heinz Field Sunday night during a 39-26 loss to the New England Patriots.
“I can't help it when turf moves and you miss a kick,” Reed said. “I just wish if you play sports or are a sports fan, you understand things like that. I've been here a long time. I think I know what I'm doing.”
Over the past three seasons, Reed was the most accurate kicker in the NFL, hitting 88.5 per cent of his attempts. But in 22 attempts so far this season he has only managed 15 field goals. He’s zero for four in attempts between 40 and 49 yards, and has hit
two out of four from distances of 50 yards or more.
Suisham has played for the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, and the Washington Redskins over his five seasons and has hit 79.1 per cent of his attempts. Last year he appeared in only two games for the Cowboys hitting two out of three field goal attempts.
Tags: