As expected, the Pittsburgh Steelers cut kicker Jeff Reed on Tuesday. Reed missed a 26-yard field goal during a loss to the Patriots on Sunday night and decided to blame the Heinz Field turf and Steelers fans for his struggles this year. It’s also important to note that Reed once had a bleach-blond blowout haircut, wore a “haters hate” t-shirt during the post-game interview where he whined about the fans, and is a complete tool in every sense of the word.
However, it would be unfair to say that Reed hasn’t been successful with the Steelers. He spent more than eight seasons in Pittsburgh and won two Super Bowls with the team. That doesn’t make it any less hilarious that the Steelers had practically nothing to say about Jeff when they released him and brought in Shaun Suisham to replace him.
“To make room for Suisham, the Steelers released kicker Jeff Reed,” the team said in a press release that Pro Football Talk shared with us on Tuesday. “Reed was in his ninth year with the team in 2010, but was just 15 of 22 on field goal attempts this season. Reed ranks second in team history with 919 career points (307 PATs, 204 FGs).”
A farewell press release with a “but…” in it? Classic. Clearly some bridges had been burned before this move was made. When a guy has been with a team that long, the team will usually mention how much they appreciate what he’s done for the organization over the years. Instead, the Steelers basically reminded the public that the move had to be made because Reed now sucks. If it weren’t for pictures like these ones, I might even feel a tiny bit sorry for the guy.
