Steelers Recognize Significant Punter Problem

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers know they have an issue at punter. Pressley Harvin III has become one of the team’s issues on special teams, and that matters a ton of when the team plays the field position game as much as they do. On Thursday, Mike Tomlin addressed Harvin’s rocky play.

“You know, I’ll acknowledge that Pressley (Harvin) wasn’t consistent enough, particularly down the stretch,” Tomlin said.

The Steelers have a punter problem, and have had one for a while. But their loss against the Bills game cemented the fact that it seems even harder to imagine them not making a change here. Pittsburgh gave Harvin three legitimate seasons to prove what he could do on the football field, but time and time again, he has fallen short. 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.

Harvin’s flat punts leave the team out to dry. He is 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. It seems like it is time to move on. This isn’t working.

Pittsburgh will likely move on at this point, and they must do so. At any rate, Harvin is not cutting it as the team’s punter with his inconsistencies over the past three seasons. It seems like many things, and this is one of those coming to an end after the 2023 season for plenty of solid reasons.

Tomlin has openly talked about his displeasure with the punting situation. Although Harvin is a fantastic holder for Chris Boswell, it does not make up for his lackluster punting efforts throughout the last three seasons. And that means change is natural to the come on special teams and especially, at punter.