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I just looked up who was cut today, and Suisham was one of 10 Steelers that were cut. But I really don't worry because he only got one chance at a field goal and nailed it from 46, so I think that someone at somepoint in the season will be looking for his services. Let's just hope it's sooner rather than later.

Maybe but usually NFL teams only sign retread kickers that have been somewhat reliable in the past during the season if their kicker goes down with an injury. Suisham would likely have to perform somewhere like the CFL or Arena League first. i.e. It was not that long ago that Eddie Murray was signed near the end of one NFL season after being inactive for 2 or 3 years.

This is yet another reason why I HATE THE STEELERS!!!!!

Shaun Suisham will never play a down in an NFL game.

The truth of the matter, is kickers are a dime a dozen in the NFL. Only the lucky ones who are not only good, consistent, and reliable have a chance to shine (Vinatieri), and are the only ones who really got a long term shot.

BGDrew wrote:The truth of the matter, is kickers are a dime a dozen in the NFL. Only the lucky ones who are not only good, consistent, and reliable have a chance to shine (Vinatieri), and are the only ones who really got a long term shot.

I wouldn't say that they're a dime a dozen. I think the bigger problem is that it's so rare to find a truly good kicker that most teams settle on crap. Even worse kickers can kick well into their 40's and are cheap to retain. With only 32 jobs a year its a pretty tough biz to get into.

Even more, very few kickers are good right out of college, for whatever reason. Kaeding was one of the best kickers in the NCAA, now he's been very unreliable in the NFL. It seems that most kickers go to the arena league or CFL to mature, and break back into the NFL in their late 20s or early 30s.

Here's the deal.

NFL teams don't want to pay jack for a kicker. Even though a crap-load of games come down to the kicker, they never get any respect or loyalty. If SS wants to hang around and try out every year and play in CFL or AFL for a while, he'll get a shot. As soon as a kicker has a good year and asks to be paid like an important part of the team, they get the door. So there's a big turnover and SS keeps plugging away, he'll get another shot. He may never play in the NFL, but he could get another shot if he wants it. After all the number of times he's scared the crap out of folks trying to shop in the endzone souvenir tent should count for something.

Robby
Class of '89