The Pittsburgh Steelers have gone through several different punters since the injury-riddled Daniel Sepulveda hung up his cleats in 2011. The team is hoping they may have shored up the position for 2014 with the Tuesday signing of free agent P Adam Podlesh. The 30-year-old Podlesh is a seven-year veteran who was drafted by Jacksonville in the same 2007 NFL Draft that brought Sepulveda to Pittsburgh. Podlesh has played in 107 NFL games, launching 467 punts at an average of 42.4 yards-per-punt.
The former Jaguars and Chicago Bears punter will come into Steelers Training Camp in Latrobe to compete with Brad Wing for the job. Wing was the only punter currently on the Steelers roster prior to the signing, despite never appearing in a regular season game. Wing was considered one of the top punters in the Country during his time at LSU in 2011-2012. He went un-drafted in the 2013 Draft, before signing as a free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles. Wing was released prior to the regular season, and signed a futures contract with Pittsburgh earlier this year.
Podlesh played his college football at the University of Maryland before the Jaguars chose him in the fourth round of the 2007 Draft. He was a four-time All-ACC team selection and a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award in 2004. He has been a solid punter for the Bears since 2011, but was released after posting his lowest net punt average with the team last season. Chicago inherited $800,000 in dead salary cap money with the move. Financial terms of the Steelers deal with Podlesh have not been released, but it is thought that Pittsburgh had approximately $300,000 left under the cap prior to the signing.
