HEADLINES

Pressley Harvin III

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/26/24

August 26th, 2024 at 10:08pm CST by Ely Allen

There have been plenty of posts today about a number of teams releasing and waiving players ahead of roster cuts. Here are the best of the rest of the minor moves for Monday:

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Waived: DE Justin Blazek

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

  • Waived: DE Levi Bell
  • Released: C Mike Panasiuk

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived: CB Willie Roberts

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Nelson was an effective swing tackle for the Lions in the past three years. While he wasn’t able to stick with the Giants, he’s likely to draw interest elsewhere in the NFL.

The Eagles like Sam a lot at safety, but with a number of veterans atop the depth chart, there wasn’t room for him on the roster. The team plans to retain him on the practice squad should he clear waivers, per Andrew DiCecco of 975 The Fanatic. The Buccaneers have similar plans with Isaac, Taula, and Wisdom.

49ers To Sign P Pressley Harvin III

August 9th, 2024 at 8:28am CST by Sam Robinson

After spending the past three seasons as the Steelers’ punter, Pressley Harvin III hit the waiver wire this offseason. The fourth-year specialist found another gig Friday morning.

The 49ers are adding Harvin to their 90-man roster, according to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson. Sixth-year 49ers punter Mitch Wishnowsky is dealing with an injury, creating an immediate — though, perhaps not pressing due to the regular season being a month away — need at this specialty spot.

Pittsburgh parted ways with Harvin in mid-February and signed recent Texans punter Cameron Johnston a month later. A 2021 seventh-round pick, Harvin punted in 47 games for the Steelers from 2021-23. He beat out Braden Mann to keep the Pittsburgh punting gig last summer but averaged just 43.8 yards per punt in 2023. This was a step down from 2022, when the netted 44.5 yards per boot. Among regulars, Harvin’s 2023 average ranked as the NFL’s second-worst mark last season.

San Francisco’s punter of the past five seasons, Wishnowsky is dealing with a knee injury that has forced him out of practice in recent days. Kyle Shanahan said recently the team would need to address this situation before the preseason opener. A 2019 fourth-round pick, Wishnowsky is signed through the 2026 season.

While Wishnowsky’s job does not appear at risk, the 49ers will need to execute punts (presumably) in their August debut. With no other punter on the roster coming into today, Harvin now appears set to handle that workload against the Titans on Saturday.

NFL Workouts: Averett, Jacobs, Harvin, Eason, Ollison

May 4th, 2024 at 5:01pm CST by Ely Allen

NFL teams often use rookie minicamp as an opportunity to bring in some veterans for workouts. Here are a few such instances of teams who invited some veteran free agents for the weekend:

  • The Steelers invited a former division-rival in cornerback Anthony Averett, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network. Pittsburgh acquired veteran Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson in the trade that sent Diontae Johnson to Carolina, and Jackson is expected to start across from last year’s rookie starter Joey Porter Jr. Behind them, though, the team’s depth chart shows seventh-round rookie selection Ryan Watts and last year’s seventh-round pick Cory Trice as the top backup options. After playing out his rookie contract in Baltimore, Averett played the 2022 season with the Raiders before getting place on injured reserve. He spent a little time with the 49ers in the preseason before getting signed to the Lions’ practice squad. He could provide starting, veteran experience to a young corners group in Pittsburgh.
  • The Jaguars also brought in a veteran cornerback from Detroit, inviting Jerry Jacobs, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2. Despite coming in as an undrafted free agent, Jacobs started 29 of his 40 game appearances for the Lions. Jacksonville is apparently looking to add some depth to the position after replacing Darious Williams with Ronald Darby as the starter opposite Tyson Campbell.
  • The Buccaneers brought in some competition for their punter of the past two years, Jake Camarda, according to Greg Auman of FOX Sports. Tampa Bay invited former Steelers punter Pressley Harvin III after he was waived by Pittsburgh in February. Harvin isn’t likely to impact the depth chart, though, after Camarda set Tampa Bay’s franchise record for single-season punt average just last year.
  • The Packers invited an extra arm to the rookie minicamp, according to Matt Schneidman of The Athletic, bringing in Jacob Eason. Green Bay just drafted Tulane quarterback Michael Pratt in the seventh round to compete with last year’s fifth-round pick Sean Clifford for the backup job. Alex McGough is also in the room but has yet to make an NFL debut despite being drafted back in 2018. Eason has in-game experience with the Colts and Panthers and could certainly find himself in the running for a roster spot with an impressive performance.
  •  Finally, the Jets brought in veteran running back Qadree Ollison, per Wilson. Ollison’s only NFL touches came over two years ago during his stint with the Falcons, so it’s unlikely that he’ll make an impact on the depth chart in a young running backs room that includes 2022 second-round pick Breece Hall, last year’s fifth-round pick Israel Abanikanda, rookie fourth-round pick Braelon Allen, and rookie fifth-round pick Isaiah Davis.

Steelers Cut OL Chukwuma Okorafor, P Pressley Harvin III

February 12th, 2024 at 5:21pm CST by Ben Levine

Mitch Trubisky wasn’t the only Steelers player to earn his walking papers today. The team announced that they’ve also cut offensive lineman Chukwuma Okorafor and punter Pressley Harvin III.

[RELATED: Steelers, QB Mitch Trubisky Part Ways]

Okorafor joined the Steelers as a third-round pick in 2018. He got into 77 games across his six seasons with the organization, including a three-year stretch between 2020 and 2022 where he started 48 of his 49 appearances. He also started a pair of playoff games for the Steelers.

The lineman’s 55-game starting streak ended this past season when he was benched for disciplinary reasons. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Broderick Jones, and the rookie ended up playing the majority of the snaps at right tackle for the rest of the year.

Okorafor inked a three-year, $29.25MM extension with the Steelers back in 2022. He was set to earn $4.75MM via base salary and $4MM in roster bonuses next season. As Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes, the development of Jones coupled with the minuscule $1.23MM cap hit from Dan Moore Jr. made it easier to move on from the veteran Okorafor.

Harvin has spent the past three seasons as Pittsburgh’s primary punter. The 2021 seventh-round pick has continued to build off a rookie campaign where he earned All-Rookie Team honors. He finished this past season landing a career-high 38.5 percent of his punts inside the 20. He was set to enter the final year of his rookie contract.

Steelers To Bring Back P Brad Wing

September 27th, 2023 at 11:08am CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers held a punting competition this offseason, bringing in Braden Mann to challenge incumbent Pressley Harvin. The team went with the holdover option, becoming the second club to cut Mann this year. But Harvin is now battling an injury.

Harvin sustained a hamstring injury during a strong Week 3 outing in Las Vegas. The Steelers’ contingency plan will involve a blast from the past. Brad Wing, who last punted in an NFL game six years ago, is joining the Steelers on a practice squad deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.

Wing spent three seasons with the Giants but began his career with the Steelers, who used him as their primary punter in 2014. The Australian specialist punted in all 16 games for the Steelers during his 2014 rookie season, but the team went in a different direction in 2015. Wing, 32, re-emerged on Pittsburgh’s radar this month, however, working out for the Steelers before Week 2.

This year’s XFL reboot opened the door to Wing resuming his career. He caught on with the twice-relaunched league’s San Antonio Brahmas. He had previously punted in the short-lived Alliance of American Football in 2019. The Giants rostered Wing from 2015-17 but traded for Riley Dixon in 2018, a transaction that came after Wing’s release.

Harvin, who averaged 44.5 yards per punt in 2022, is off to a nice start. His three-game average checks in at 47.2. While Wing only cleared 45 yards per boot once during his four-year NFL run in the 2010s, he led the XFL with a 47.8-yard average this year. Harvin being unable to go would bring about an interesting chapter in Steelers special teams annals, with Wing now in position to suit up nine years after his previous Pittsburgh cameo.

Steelers Release P Jordan Berry

August 30th, 2021 at 7:41pm CST by Ben Levine

The Steelers have settled on a new punter. The team released veteran Jordan Berry today, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero (via Twitter). This means rookie seventh-round pick Pressley Harvin III has won the starting gig.

Berry, a 2014 undrafted free agent out of Eastern Kentucky, had been with the Steelers since the 2015 season. Berry didn’t miss a game through his first five seasons in the NFL, averaging 44.2 yards per punt on his 328 attempts. It looked like his stint in Pittsburgh had ended in 2020 when the team released him in favor of Dustin Colquitt, but the team reversed course and re-signed Berry in October. The veteran ended up seeing time in 11 games last season, and he finished with a career-high 45.8 yards per punt.

Harvin will now take over the starting gig following a standout career at Georgia Tech. The punter earned a long list of accolades in 2020, including unanimous first-team All-American, first team All-ACC, and the Ray Guy Award, given to the nation’s top punter.

The Steelers special teams room will look a bit different in 2021, as the team also swapped long snapper Kam Canaday with Christian Kuntz. This leaves kicker Chris Boswell as the lone holdover.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/15/21

May 15th, 2021 at 3:10pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest rookies to agree to terms on their four-year contracts. The Steelers were busy on this front Saturday.

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Pittsburgh Steelers