Tag: Jordan Berry

Vikings coach Mike Zimmer talks about the signing of punter Jordan Berry

“He’s got a big leg,” Mike Zimmer said. “He’s done it for a while, just trying to get a little bit more hang time and distance.”

The Vikings have had Britton Colquitt as the team’s starting punter for the past two seasons and all of this preseason, but Minnesota still opted for change.

The Vikings released Colquitt and signed Jordan Berry, a punter who has been with the Steelers for six seasons. Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer talked about the switch at punter recently:

“He’s got a big leg. He’s done it for a while, just trying to get a little bit more hang time and distance.”

This past season, Berry had a net average of 45.77, which ranked him 16th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Berry also had 25 punts pinned inside the 20-yard line, which ranked tied for 11th in the league.

Colquitt had a net average of 45.09 this past season for the Vikings, per PFF. That ranked him 21st in the league. He had just 12 punts pinned inside the 20. Overall, Colquitt did not live up to his contract in 2020.

Colquitt did a nice job of bouncing back after a rough game in the preseason opener. Though that may have not earned him back his roster spot, he could still land with another team in 2021. Maybe the Vikings sign him to the practice squad if not.

Vikings expected to sign former Steelers punter Jordan Berry

The moves keep coming and they don’t stop coming.

Minnesota made a surprise move when it cut Britton Colquitt on Wednesday.

Then on Thursday, it seemed like Colquitt would be returning to the team, but now that appears to not be the case.

The Vikings are expected to sign former Steelers punter Jordan Berry, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The team cannot officially make the move until late this afternoon.

Berry had a net average of 45.77 in 2020, which ranked him 16th in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Berry also had 25 punts pinned inside the 20-yard line, a mark that ranked him tied for 11th in the league.

Colquitt had a net average of 45.09 this past season for the Vikings, per PFF. That ranked him 21st in the league. He had just 12 punts pinned inside the 20.

So if last season was any indication, the Vikings are upgrading at punter. Colquitt struggled against the Broncos in the preseason opener, and Mike Zimmer called his performance “cause for concern.”

However, Colquitt went on to have pretty good games against the Colts and the Chiefs, so maybe another team will sign him and make him a starter in 2021.

Steelers bring in punter, linebacker to bolster practice squad

According to the NFL transaction report, the Steelers are looking to address needs at both linebacker and punter.

Déjà vu! On Monday, per the NFL transaction report, the Pittsburgh Steelers brought former punter Jordan Berry in for a visit.

The Steelers also hosted converted safety, Ray Wilborn. A former Atlanta Falcons linebacker, he failed to make their 53-man roster and was cut on Sept. 5.

In Wilborn’s last two seasons at Ball State, he played at outside linebacker and safety and showed skill in coverage. According to Pro Football Focus, in 2018 Wilborn allowed the lowest passer rating of any linebacker in the MAC (71.0).

For those who don’t know, the difference between a visit and a tryout is that visits have no workout involved; they’re more conversational in nature. Pittsburgh knows what Berry can do and must have scout info on Wilborn since he didn’t work out.

The linebacker visit is, obviously, not a surprise with Devin Bush out for the season with a torn ACL. As for the punter situation, head coach Mike Tomlin must not be pleased with Dennis Colquitt. Corliss Witman is also on the practice squad.

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Steelers signing P Dustin Colquitt to 1-year contract

The Steelers have themselves a new punter.

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It seems it’s over for Pittsburgh Steelers punter Jordan Berry. ESPN NFL reporter is reporting that former Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt has passed his physical and is signing a one-year contract with the Steelers.

Colquitt has been the punter for the Chiefs for the last 15 seasons and has been a steady and consistent performer. He joins the team his dad Dustin player with for eight seasons and won two Super Bowls.

The corresponding move to get Colquitt onto the 53-man roster will be to release Berry. Berry has been completely inconsistent during his career but was able to hold onto his spot until now. The Steelers were so concerned they even kept a punter on their practice squad, one of only three teams to do this.

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The Steelers desperately needed depth and they got it on Sunday

The Steelers made some wise moves to bolster depth but not without the release of a 2019 fan favorite.

The Steelers continue to show that they’re pulling out all of the stops to go big or go home in 2020. On Sunday, the team re-signed their former backup quarterback Josh Dobbs and starting safety Sean Davis to bolster the depth of their respective positions.

Devlin “Duck” Hodges was released to make room for Dobbs, and the corresponding move for Davis was safety Curtis Riley. Pittsburgh’s hope is to be able to put Riley back on the practice squad.

Davis had just signed a two-year contract with the Washington Football Team in March.

Punter dilemma?

News came down Saturday that the Steelers were bringing in punter Dustin Colquitt for a tryout to potentially supplant Jordan Berry. Colquitt has played 15 seasons to Berry’s five, but they have similar stats over the last few years. Though Colquitt has 652 fewer punt yards than Berry’s 14,495, Colquitt’s is the more consistent of the two.

Dobbs didn’t play at all for the Jaguars in 2019 and appeared in just five games in 2018. According to Pro Football Reference, he had a 50 percent completion rate and threw an interception.

Davis entered the 2019 season at free safety for the Steelers on the final year of his rookie deal. He suffered a shoulder injury and was placed on injured reserve on Sept. 17, 2019. Following his injury, the Steelers traded their first-round pick to the Miami Dolphins for Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Beyond his three-interception, 92-tackle 2017 season, Davis hadn’t lived up to his second-round draft selection. Despite that, Pittsburgh was woefully thin depth-wise after his departure. Though he didn’t perform to expectations, he won’t be expected to start this time around. When Davis is in the game, at least he’ll know the system, which is a bonus — especially this season. Hopefully lessening his load will get more out of him, so to speak.

As all claimed players do, each will have to pass a physical and go through COVID-19 testing protocols.

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Steelers bringing in veteran punter for workout

Are the Steelers looking to replace Jordan Berry?

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The Pittsburgh Steelers cut their roster down to 53 on Saturday and kept veteran punter Jordan Berry. But this might just be a temporary arrangement as NFL reporter Field Yates is reporting the Steelers are having former Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt in for a tryout.

Berry has been grossly inconsistent throughout his career. Berry has been with the team since 2015 and while his career average of 44.2-yard career average is very respectable.

The problem with the numbers are it doesn’t account for the 60-yard punt Berry bombs on one try, only to follow it up with a 25-yard effort the next time.

Colquitt is entering his 16th NFL season after playing the first 15 in Kansas City. His 44.8-yard average is almost identical to that of Berry but Colquitt has proven to be more consistent throughout his career.

Are the Steelers looking for an upgrade at punter or is there something else? Let us know in the comments below.

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Miscommunication the cause for Steelers failed fake punt

The fake punt went wrong in so many ways.

Late in the Pittsburgh Steelers win over the Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh attempted a fake punt that failed miserably. Two Cardinals came completely unblocked and destroyed punter Jordan Berry who barely got out of the starting blocks.

It was a truly bizarre play and it made little sense. But after the game was over, we got some clarity that made the play easier to swallow. Especially considering Pittsburgh won.

But what went wrong? According to head coach Mike Tomlin, the fake punt was his call and something they had worked on during the week. But where things fell apart was on the field when the protection guys called the fake off. A detail Barry didn’t get. Once the ball was snapped he did what he thought he was supposed to do but the rest of the team was doing something else.

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Steelers HC Mike Tomlin says he called the failed fake punt

The Steelers fake punt try was so bad, it looked like it wasn’t supposed to happen.

Well, this one is a surprise. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin spoke to the media just after their 23-17 win over the Arizona Cardinals and addressed the abysmal fake punt attempt late in the game. In watching the play it really looked like it was an improvisation by punter Jordan Berry because of what he perceived as pressure but according to Tomlin it was his call.

Tomlin noted it wasn’t executed properly which would be an understatement. Two Cardinals players came clean at Berry, forcing him to fumble and the Cardinals recovered. Arizona almost immediately turned the botched play into a touchdown, drawing the score to 20-17 late in the fourth quarter.

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