Browns Work Out former Steelers Punter
The Cleveland Browns worked out former Pittsburgh Steelers punter Pressley Harvin III on Thursday, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 Houston.
Harvin was with the San Francisco 49ers for a brief time in August but was waived after two weeks. San Francisco signed Harvin because Mitch Wishnowsky was dealing with knee irritation, so they were using him just as a camp leg.
Harvin, a seventh-round selection out of Georgia Tech by the Steelers in 2021, was released in February after a tumultuous three-year tenure. He could just never remain consistent.
In his post-season debriefing, Mike Tomlin mentioned that Harvin had not met their standards.
“You know, I’ll acknowledge that Pressley (Harvin) wasn’t consistent enough, particularly down the stretch,” Tomlin said.
Harvin’s flat punts left the team out to dry. He was consistently outdueled each week against opponents, putting an already struggling offense in even tougher spots when the field position battle gets so lopsided and opposing offenses start on short fields.
Harvin had the second-worst yards per punt in 2023 at just 43.8 yards.His struggles against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card loss were the last straw, as Harvin put the team on multiple short fields throughout the game. A mere 38.5 punt average led Harvin to one of his most lackluster career showings. For a team that plays the field position game so strongly, having a subpar punter is a big deal, especially when they invested a draft pick in Harvin.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosted Harvin for a tryout at their rookie minicamp in May, but a contract wasn’t offered to the former Ray Guy Award Winner.
In 2022, Harvin finished 19th in the NFL in net punting average at 41.1, a three-yard improvement over his rookie season, and his 137 total return yards was the second-fewest among regular punters. But his gross average was just 44.5, or 28th in the league, because of too few short kicks off the side of his foot. And that took a step back in 2023, leading to the Steelers to part ways.
After losing starting punter Cameron Johnston to a season-ending injury, the Steelers signed punter Corliss Waitman. Waitman, 29, will be on his third stint with the Steelers. Pittsburgh originally signed him as an undrafted free agent out of South Alabama in 2020. He spent parts of the 2020 and 2021 seasons with Pittsburgh, playing two games in 2021.
Harvin and former Steelers punter Brad Wing were also free agents and viewed as possible options. With how Harvin performed in his three years with the Steelers, it’s not surprising that a reunion didn’t come to fruition.
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