The Pittsburgh Steelers have re-signed long snapper Christian Kuntz to a one-year contract for the 2023 season, the team announced on Wednesday.
Kuntz, 28, had been set to become an exclusive-rights free agent, meaning that as long as the Steelers offered him a contract, he had no rights to negotiate with other teams. The financial terms of the contract have not yet been released.
A Pittsburgh-area native, Chartiers Valley and Duquesne alum, Kuntz played linebacker in high school and college, but picked up long snapping after his amaterr playing days ended in 2016.
He bounced around the NFL, with stops with the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. Kuntz got his first stint with the Steelers in during training camp in 2019, but he was among the final roster cuts. He played in the XFL in the spring of 2020 and re-joined the Steelers that March.
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Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and expanded practice squads, Kuntz was able to earn a practice squad spot as a backup long snapper in 2020. In 2021, he beat out incumbent Kameron Canaday for the Steelers’ long snapping role.
Kuntz has worked with punter Pressley Harvin III and kicker Chris Boswell for each of the last two season, and now all three of the Steelers’ specialists are expected to return for 2023.
Kuntz is the second of the team’s pending free agents to re-sign with the club, following wide receiver Anthony Miller.