Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers will look at other kickers this week to replace Chris Boswell, who has missed 11 kicks this season, including six field goals.
Boswell missed two more Sunday in Oakland, including a blocked 40-yarder on the final play in which his plant foot slipped.
Chris Boswell slips on the field goal attempt and it’s blocked! pic.twitter.com/NzL2htaHZ4
— Heart of NFL (@HeartofNFL) December 10, 2018
Tomlin also indicated the Steelers are not ready to give up on Boswell, but other teams have had success this season when cutting their struggling kicker and bringing in a replacement.
“We acknowledge Chris has struggled; we’re willing to explore options that give us our best option to see that ball go through the uprights, and those options include Chris,” Tomlin said. “The prudent approach includes Chris.
“His performance merits turning over stones, but the easy option is to assign blame. That’s not our intention. We want to do what’s right for our football team, and that’s to ensure we give ourselves the best options to win a football game. That is the approach we intend to take.”
On his weekly radio show Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan, Ben Roethlisberger put at least part of the blame for Sunday’s slip on the field, calling it “not ideal” for kicking.
“I just kind of put my hand on his back and said, ‘Hey, keep your head up. We’re gonna need you at some point.’ Hopefully he heard the words. I haven’t lost confidence in him. I still think every time he lines up, it’s gonna go in. He needs to have that same confidence, and I hope he does.”
Several NFL teams have cut underperforming kickers this year, and at least three of those teams have had better results.
The Oakland Raiders, who went through four kickers because of injuries, signed Daniel Carlson after he was released by the Minnesota Vikings, and he’s converted 10 of 11 field goals and all 14 extra points in seven games. Carlson missed three field goals in a Week 2 game against the Green Bay Packers when the Vikings cut him.
The Cleveland Browns cut Zane Gonzalez after he missed three of five field-goal attempts and five of seven extra points, but he found new life with Greg Joseph, who is 13-of-15 on field goals and 18-of-21 on extra points in 11 games.
The Los Angeles Chargers signed free-agent Mike Badgley because of injuries and inconsistency from Caleb Sturgis (9 of 13 FGs, 9 of 15 PATs). All Badgley has done is make 14 of 15 field goals and 20 of 21 extra points.
The Vikings, however, have not had a lot of success with their new kicker. After cutting Carlson, they brought in former Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey, who has been just as erratic. He has missed seven field goals (16 of 23) and an extra point with the Vikings.
Sean Gentille contributed. Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com and Twitter @gerrydulac
First Published: December 11, 2018, 5:34 p.m.
Updated: December 11, 2018, 6:47 p.m.
