Pittsburgh Steelers Exit Assembly: LS Christian Kuntz
Expertise: 4 Years
Christian Kuntz did the unthinkable in 2021 and unseated Kameron Canaday because the Steelers’ lengthy snapper. Canaday is the legend who overtook Colin Holba for the job, the latter a sixth-round draft decide who by no means performed for Pittsburgh. In different phrases, it’s not a very huge deal who the Steelers’ lengthy snapper is to the typical fan.
The Steelers are content material with Kuntz’s work in that space, nonetheless, signing him to a three-year deal final yr. Whereas they did make a long-term dedication to him on paper, I ought to word the Steelers aren’t tied down. In essence, that deal is a sequence of three one-year contracts with a front-loaded signing bonus.
Christian Kuntz is incomes the league-minimum wage in every season for his size of service. The Steelers threw in a $325,000 signing bonus, however they may have given him greater than that in signing bonuses over three years whereas nonetheless qualifying for a Veteran Wage Profit deal.
One can solely assume that the Steelers signed Kuntz to a three-year deal as a mere gesture. Kuntz is a Yinzer by way of and thru and would maintain signing one-year offers for the remainder of his life. There was no purpose for the Steelers to make a long-term association, and in reality it’s a gentle drawback. Due to that, they don’t qualify for the wage cap financial savings of a Veteran Wage Profit deal.
Granted, the Steelers aren’t shedding out on Tee Higgins due to that, but it surely was nonetheless pointless. And to be fairly sincere, there’s nothing about Christian Kuntz’s recreation that distinguishes him as a superlative lengthy snapper. It’s not like he has the pinpoint placement consistency of Greg Warren in his prime. Even with a linebacker background, it’s not like he makes many particular groups tackles.
All that is to say that there isn’t a lot to say in regards to the Steelers and Christian Kuntz. He’s simply the staff’s lengthy snapper, and he’s adequate. Probably the most noteworthy improvement surrounding him is the truth that he began a podcast final yr. In any other case, he’s simply residing out a Steelers fan’s dream of incomes a paycheck to attend video games. Good for him.
The Pittsburgh Steelers discover themselves at residence, the inevitable results of one other early playoff exit. This can be a repeated sample for the group, with no clear finish in sight. Because the Steelers conduct their very own exit conferences, we’ll go down the roster conducting our personal. Who ought to keep, and who ought to go, and the way? Who ought to count on an even bigger position subsequent season, and who may deserve a brand new contract? We’ll discover these questions and extra in these articles, a part of an annual sequence.