By Jordan Long
The Pittsburgh Steelers are in training camp. Their first preseason game is against the Seattle Seahawks on August 13th. The Steelers decided to extend kicker Chris Boswell’s contract.
Boswell has been with Pittsburgh since the 2015 season. He has been an accurate kicker for Pittsburgh, nailing 88.4% of his field goals. His top year for Pittsburgh was in 2020 when Boswell made 19 of 20 kicks. His only miss came in week 11 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. It was a 45-yard field goal. His longest that season ended up being 59 yards which still stands as the farthest field goal Boswell has made.
Boswell’s worst season in Pittsburgh occurred in 2018. For whatever reason, he couldn’t make the kicks. Pittsburgh couldn’t trust him. Boswell hit just 65% of his field goals that season.
Pittsburgh knows if an offensive drive stalls and they are past the 50-yard line, Boswell will more than likely kick it through the uprights for points. Boswell has never missed a kick from between 1 to 29 yards. He is a perfect 51 for 51. Even though he is accurate, the side of the field he struggles on is when the ball is placed between the 30 to the 49-yard line. From there, Boswell is 114 for 134 or 85% from that distance. When it comes to PAT (points after touchdowns) Boswell makes them at 94.3%.
Athletes want to play well in the postseason. Boswell appeared in 8 playoff games for Pittsburgh. Incredibly, Boswell has never missed a field goal kick in the playoffs, going 16 for 16 with a long of 49 yards.
Boswell was set to play in the last year of his current deal. The Steelers didn’t want Boswell to go anywhere else. They knew if they didn’t sign him to an extension, another team was going to pick him up because of how valuable he is. Pittsburgh agreed to a 4 year, $20 million extension with him. Of that $20 million, 12.5 million of it is guaranteed. This ties him with Baltimore Ravens’ kicker Justin Tucker as the highest paid kicker in the league.
This new deal keeps Boswell in Pittsburgh until the end of the 2026 season. Pittsburgh is anticipating he can continue to kick the ball through the uprights to extend Pittsburgh’s leads or keep them in the football games. The only way this deal doesn’t work out is if Boswell struggles. For now, Boswell can focus on his field goal kicking without thinking about a new contract.
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