The Pittsburgh Steelers have brought in a familiar face in Week 4 due to punter Pressley Harvin's nagging hamstring injury. The Steelers signed Brad Wing, who punted for the team back in 2014 and last played in the NFL in 2017 for the New York Giants. Harvin has been having a great season ever since Head Coach, Mike Tomlin called him out publicly for his poor performance in Week 1, so Wing will have some work to do on Sunday to fill the need at the punter position.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' Brad Wing
Steelers Bring Back Former Punter
Harvin was officially ruled out for the Steelers Week 4 contest against the Houston Texans, which means Wing was activated to the active roster and will punt in the NFL for the first time since 2017. Since then, Wing has spent time punting in both the Alliance Of American Football League and in the XFL. In the XFL, he played for the San Antonio Brahmas who are led by former Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward. Joey Porter Sr. is also on the coaching staff. Wing spoke about his appreciation for Ward and Porter Sr. and his time in the XFL in a media scrum before the team's Week 4 matchup.
"I was planning on going back to the XFL next year, Hines said he wanted me back if nothing else happened. So I'm very grateful for him. I loved it man. I thought my football days were over. So I was just really grateful to be out there playing, and to have Hines it just made it a whole lot sweeter."
Wing only played for the Bahamas during the 2023 XFL season, but was planning on making a return. However, the NFL called and now he will be starting for the Steelers on Sunday. He was thinking he'd never play football again before 2023, and now he has a chance to show that he still has what it takes to be a NFL punter.
New York Giants
Steelers' Brad Wing with the New York Giants
Hopefully the Steelers won't be punting much on Sunday, but Wing does have some big shoes to fill. Harvin was coming off the best game of his career, where he didn't have a single touchback and had three punts land inside the 20. Wing only spent one year with Pittsburgh back in 2014, however, he shared how grateful he was to be back and see some familiar faces.
"Surreal. I love this place, I've always loved this place even when I went to play else where, this is a special place. Just being brought back in and not even signing or having the opportunity to sign, just to see the familiar faces was amazing."
Some familiar faces Wing might be referring to would, of course, be Tomlin, as well as his old special teams coach, Danny Smith. Smith has been the Steelers special teams coach since 2013 and will be reuniting with his former punter. Some fans were skeptical about bringing Wing back in, since he has been out of the league for so long. Many thought that there were surely some better options on the free agent market, but everyone knows how much Tomlin and the Steelers love familiarity, so for some it was no surprise to see Wing back in the Steelers' facility.
Bill Wippert / Associated Press
Former Steelers and Giants punter Brad Wing hasn't been in the NFL since 2017, but Pittsburgh hosted him for a workout after Week 1.
Back in 2014 Wing had a pretty successful season in Pittsburgh. He had just four touchbacks all season long, while pinning the opponent inside the 20 on 20 separate occasions. Wing only had touchbacks on 6.6 percent of his punts, while he pinned the opposing team deep on 32.8 percent of his punts.
If Wing can bring this same kind of punting to the field on Sunday, the Steelers will be set up nicely to secure a victory. Especially with the Texans depleted offensive line going up against the current NFL sack leader TJ Watt and the rest of the Steelers impressive pass rush. It's exciting to see a familiar face back in Pittsburgh at the punter position, especially after so long.
What do you think of Wing's return to Pittsburgh? Let us know in the comments below!
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