The Pittsburgh Steelers made a roster move on Tuesday and as expected, punter Zoltan Mesko was released following several weeks of inconsistency.
Taking over Mesko will be free agency Mat McBriar , who was brought in for a tryout on Tuesday.
McBriar was signed originally by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent in 2003 out of Hawaii. After spending time with the Broncos and Seattle Seahawks in 2003, McBriar signed with Dallas Cowboys in December 2003.
After eight seasons in Dallas, McBriar signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2012
McBriar has overcome peroneal nerve damage in his left leg that was caused by a cyst inside the nerve itself. The Australian-born born punter had surgery on the cyst early in 2012.
McBriar has a career punting average of 45.4 and a net average of 38.2 on 549 punts. He last kicked in the regular season for the Eagles in 2012.
McBriar was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006 and 2010.
Mesko was very inconsistent in the first seven games of the season and his 30 yard punt Sunday in the loss to the Oakland Raiders just couldn’t be overlooked even though he did punt better in the second half. To make matters worse, Mesko had his second punt of the game blocked and although it wasn’t entirely his fault, him not fielding the snap cleanly from long snapper Greg Warren certainly didn’t help matters.
