The Pittsburgh Steelers officially have cut long-time kicker Jeff Reed. They did so with less than 50 words, in an oh-by-the-way addition to the press release announcing the arrival of new kicker Shaun Suisham.
“To make room for Suisham, the Steelers released kicker Jeff Reed,” the team said in a press release. “Reed was in his ninth year with the team in 2010, but was just 15 of 22 on field goal attempts this season. Reed ranks second in team history with 919 career points (307 PATs, 204 FGs).”
Sheesh. If he were the third leading scorer in team history, would they have even mentioned the move at all?
The terse treatment that Reed received confirms that the team had simply had enough of him. As if the Steelers needed him to shank a 26-yard field goal on Sunday night in a game they were going to lose anyway to convince them that the man who plays one of the most fungible positions in football was more trouble than he’s worth.