The Steelers decision to cut Drew Butler and sign Zoltan Mesko prior to the regular season back fired as Mesko has shown no thump in his leg and is one of the worst punters in the NFL through the first eight weeks of the season.
About three to four weeks too late, the Steelers have finally cut ties Mesko, waiving the 27 year old punter today and signing 10 year veteran punter Mat McBriar who played eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. McBriar has a career average of 45.4 yards with a 38.0 net average.
Mesko ranked 31st in the NFL among punters with a 36.7 yard net average.
What needs to be asked about the Mesko signing in the first place is how the Steelers scouts didn’t see Mesko had no thump in his legs. That was clear from the start.
The New England Patriots kept rookie punter Ryan Allen over the incumbent Mesko and the Pats obviously knew what they were doing. Allen ranks 12th in punting average (46.2) and 14th in net punting average (40.4), with an NFL-high seven touchbacks and 16 inside the 20. Mesko punted 34 times for the Steelers this season and had just three punts inside the 20 yard line.