Among the slew of roster transactions the Steelers made on Tuesday was the signing of two names that might already be familiar to Black and Gold fans.
Linebacker/long snapper Christian Kuntz was signed to the practice squad, and Pine-Richland High School graduate, tight end Kevin Rader was signed to the 53-man roster.
Kuntz, a Pittsburgh native, worked out for the team last week and is now in his second stint. He was part of the Steelers during training camp in 2019 and 2020 but was released after roster cut-downs. Kuntz was a practice squad member with the New England Patriots, Denver Broncos and Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chartiers Valley High School graduate played collegiately at Duquesne University, where he logged 248 tackles (71.5 for loss) and a school-record 30.5 sacks. Kuntz was also the recipient of two Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year awards and, according to Teresa Varley of Steelers.com, is the only player three-time All-American honoree in school history.
Rader was part of the Steelers practice squad for most of 2019 and, again, since the start of the 2020 season. The former Green Bay Packer played for Youngstown State University, where he had 44 receptions for 601 yards and four touchdowns.
Pittsburgh also activated tight end Vance McDonald off the reserve/COVID-19 list, where he’s been since Nov. 9. Zach Gentry, who was promoted to the active roster in McDonald’s place versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, suffered a season-ending knee injury in the game. The Steelers placed him on injured reserve on Tuesday.
The tight end moves shore up the position as the Steelers were down to just Eric Ebron for most of the Jaguars game.
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