Why Did the Steelers Keep Two Punters?

The Steelers 53-man roster is out, and while there did not end up being too many surprises, there was one thing that stood out. Pittsburgh kept two punters on the roster, with both Pressley Harvin III and Braden Mann making the initial 53-man roster. To say the least, they were the only team in the NFL to do that. But why would they do that? What’s the logic for Omar Khan and the Steelers?

Players such as Breiden Fehoko and Zach Gentry ended up as tough cuts for Pittsburgh when they are NFL players who can easily slot onto an NFL roster. Mann is staying on the Steelers roster over those guys for one reason — to trade him and get another draft pick. Khan has done this already with Kevin Dotson and Kendrick Green along the offensive line, but it could become even more apparent with Mann, who drew interest after his release from the Jets.

The Steelers placed a waiver claim on him and won, but other teams placed claims on Mann, too. One such team includes the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have zero punters on their roster right now. A week ago, NFL insider Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network noted that Mann drew interest from around the NFL, but specifically from across the state.

“The team has tried to bring in competition not just with Zentner, but they placed a waiver claim for former Jets P Braden Mann back in April. So should the Pittsburgh Steelers — who were the team awarded Mann — cut him, keep an eye on the Eagles potentially for his services through waivers once again,” Caplan wrote

Mann likely has lost the Steelers punter competition to Pressley Harvin III, who took a step forward with his consistency in training camp and then carried it over to the games. Harvin will be the Steelers’ punter, and Mann, who was brought in legitimate outside competition, will be on the outside looking in, but there is still an impressive leg and punter inside Mann.

Pittsburgh could acquire a late day three pick for Mann. Khan has seemed relentless in his pursuit of getting any value out of the players the Steelers have on their roster. Mann is an NFL caliber punter that teams could want for stability purposes.

As such, expect in the coming days for the Steelers to make a move at punter. That will allow them to add someone to the roster, whether that is someone who was released or another outside player they end up liking to add to the roster.