Another post about kickers. Yay!!
Actually, this might be the one and only time I don’t mind writing about non-football players. To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Pittsburgh Steelers cut kicker Josh Scobee and signed rookie Chris Boswell. Ditching Scobee was pretty much a foregone conclusion when Mike Tomlin bypassed a 50 yard attempt to win the game in OT. Once the head coach does that, there’s no other option.
Scobee leaves behind a legacy of costing us one game, possibly costing us another and making every kick an absolute adventure. He’ll also pocket $2.5 million for sucking at his job. Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars, who were probably going to cut him anyway because they had a cheaper rookie already in camp, outsmarted Kevin Colbert by acquiring our 6th round pick in next year’s draft. For those keeping track, we’ve already traded our 5th and 6th rounders in the 2016 draft for a corner that never plays (Brandon Boykin) and a useless kicker.
The one surprising aspect of the story is who the Steelers tabbed as the latest addition to this season’s Kicker-Go-Round. Chris Boswell was the one guy invited to try-outs that never kicked in an actual NFL game. I guess you can see that as a positive in that at least we’re not recycling one of the same old retreads. Of course, Shaun Suisham was one of those retreads and that ended up working out pretty well.
Boswell kicked for Rice, where his percentages weren’t eye-popping but he did show a big leg. In college he made fourteen kicks of 50+ yards, including three from over 55. After spending a year on the Texans practice squad, he went to camp with the Giants this preseason. The Boz was 4/4 on FGs before being cut although he did miss an extra point. Honestly, though, all he has to do is make 75% of his kicks and he’ll be a big upgrade over Scobee.