Perhaps a bit under the radar, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had an ongoing punting competition this summer. Pressley Harvin III has manned the position for two seasons now, but it's come with plenty of inconsistencies. Because of that, the team brought in some legitimate competition to face him. That would be Braden Mann, who spent the first three years of his career punting for the New York Jets.
Despite steady progression from Mann, the AFC East squad opted to release him back in April. The Steelers immediately claimed him off waivers within days once he became available. Statistics actually favored Mann over the past two years, which led to many believing he was the frontrunner to win the competition. According to Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network, the Philadelphia Eagles could be interested.
"The Eagles already recently waived UDFA P Ty Zentner, and while third-year pro Arryn Siposs was doing well last season before suffering a serious ankle injury during a Week 14 game, 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."
First off, the initial reaction is that this bit of news bodes well for Harvin. Things were tight throughout the summer, but it seems like Harvin actually emerged in training camp in Latrobe as the winner. With Harvin presumably winning the competition it's likely the team wants to deal Mann that's why they decided to keep him on the 53-man roster. Andy Weidl's former team seems to be the Steelers biggest target for a possible trade. The Steelers decision to keep Mann on their roster could be a move to spite the Eagles as they probably believed they were calling the Steelers bluff and they'd release him regardless of a trade or not. But that didn't happen.
For the Eagles, Arryn Siposs has been their punter for the past two seasons. In 2022 as a 30-year-old, he showed slight improvements across the board. Still, his net average was still sixth-worst amongst qualifying punters. The Eagles even had Tennessee Titans longtime punter Brett Kern for a few games, and his numbers were even worse. Siposs was released on Tuesday the team currently has no punter on the roster.
While Siposs has been an exceptional holder for the kicking unit, that wasn't enough to keep him over a potentially better punter. After spending the first three seasons of his career with the Eagles, Cameron Johnston signed with the Houston Texans just a few years ago. He remains one of the best in the league at his position, something the team probably wishes they could go back on.
Should Steelers stick with Harvin for 2023?
Caplan's quote is pure speculative, but it makes sense given the Eagles' interest in Mann back in April when the Jets cut him loose. It's quite possible now that the Eagles will be forced to give up a pick for Mann or even possibly Harvin. Unless something drastic changes in the coming days, the Georgia Tech product will likely be the Steelers' punter for a third straight season, though.
In the team's preseason exhibition matches, Harvin has landed all six of his punts inside the 20-yard line. Furthermore, when the Steelers played all of their starters, it was Harvin that the team used, not Mann. Mann hasn't been as effective as his counterpart in terms of landing it within the 20-yard line, but he's punted it further. Across nine attempts in the preseason, he has a better net average than Harvin.
Are you comfortable with Harvin as the team's punter for the 2023 season? Do you think it was a bad decision selecting Harvin in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft?
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