Steelers Pro Bowl Kicker Chris Boswell Nearly Retired During Tumultuous 2018 Season: ‘One of the Most Down Moments of My Life’
Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell has been on a tear this season. He broke his own team record and has 40 made field goals on the season, four off the all-time NFL mark. He has missed just three, and only one from inside 55 yards. The Steelers’ 93.0% field goal percentage is second-best in the NFL, and their 43 field goal attempts are the tied for the most in the league.
On Thursday, it was announced that Boswell received Pro Bowl honors. It’s the second time in Boswell’s career that he’s accomplished that feat. The other time was in 2017.
After a Pro Bowl season and signing a new five-year deal in August of 2018, Boswell went through some trials and tribulations. In 2018, he converted only 13 of 20 field goal attempts and 43 of 48 extra point attempts. His 65% field goal percentage was ranked last among kickers with at least 20 field goal attempts.
Boswell was placed on injured reserve on Dec. 28, 2018. It was revealed that he suffered a grade-2 tear in his groin.
Boswell recently revealed on Christian Kuntz’s podcast that the he nearly retired during the 2018 season. That’s how bad it was. Mentally, he was not in a good place.
“It’s a huge prop to [Art] Rooney (II) and [Mike] Tomlin and Kevin Colbert at the time. ‘Cause I mean, in this business, you’re in and out quick, especially at the kicker position,” Boswell told Kuntz. “Obviously it was one of the most down moments of my life. When you’re in it, you can’t get out of it. Everything’s just magnified. And that’s kinda when I learned a lot about myself.
“I’ll tell you right now, I called my agent three or four times that year wanting to quit, wanting to be done, wanting to just get out of it. It’s a nightmare. You can’t see any lights or anything.”
Boswell bounced back in 2019, converting on 29 of 31 field goal attempts (93.5%) and was a perfect 28 for 28 on extra point attempts. Outside of 2022, when he converted 20 of 28 field goal attempts (71.4%), Boswell has made at least 90% of his field goal attempts in each season since the tumultuous 2018 season.
“I didn’t really tell people my mental struggles that year or anything,” Boswell said. “My agent knew every detail because we kind of work hand in hand in this whole thing, so huge props to Jeff [Nalley] and helping me not quit.”
Boswell was named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week twice this season (Week 1 and Week 11). He was also named AFC Special Teams Player of the Month in September and October. He should be a lock to be first-team All-Pro.
It’s a good thing Boswell’s agent Jeff Nalley convinced him to not give up football during the 2018 season. He would’ve wasted his talent and lost out on a ton of money. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin certainly doesn’t take Boswell for granted. He has come through in the clutch out on numerous occasions.
“I love Boz, and I’m tired of him getting player of the week,” joked Tomlin after Boswell went 6 of 6 in the Steelers’ 18-16 win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 11. “He’ll probably get player of the week again this week. He is deserving of it, but it reminds us of our warts. It reminds us of the work that we need to do. But no doubt I’m thankful that he’s on our team.”
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