It is not a sure thing but the Pittsburgh Steelers may finally kick out, punter, Jordan Berry. In his first few years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Australian punter, Jordan Berry was a decent kicker. However, since 2018, Berry has been on the decline. This decline culminated in a 2019 season, where Berry had 3 fumbles and a fake punt attempt that went for -4 yards. Not to mention that this attempt was within the Steelers’ 20-yard line. Although he improved from is career-low 43.3 yards per punt in 2018, Berry was still an average punter at best, and downright unplayable at his worst.
With the pre-season coming to a close, the Pittsburgh Steelers still have two punters on the 80-man roster. Jordan Berry and UDFA Corliss Waitman out of South Alabama. Waitman averaged only 42.7 yards per punt in his four years at South Alabama. However, he was limited due to injury in his freshman and sophomore seasons. In his first full season, Waitman averages 45.2 yards per punt. Only .4 yards less than Jordan Berry’s career-high with Pittsburgh. Waitman also has zero career fumbles, a problem that Berry struggled with last year.
However, if Corliss Waitman is not up to the task of removing Jordan Berry, fret not. According to reports, the Steelers are working out free agent punter Richie Leone. Leone has plenty of football experience. He played for both the NFL and the CFL. Most recently, the all-star CFL punter played with the Ottawa Redblacks, however, he opted out in hopes of signing to an NFL roster. Currently, Leone leads the CFL with 48.3 yards per punt. He also has an impressive 83 yards punt as his career-high.
Both Richie Leone and Corliss Waitman also have experience placekicking and place holding. Both of these skills are being emphasized for the punter selection by head coach Mike Tomlin. Jordan Berry only has experience holding kicks.
With all of the factors leading into the 2020 NFL season, Jordan Berry is as good as gone from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ roster, and either rookie Corliss Waitman or CFL all-star Richie Leone will replace him.
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