Jordan Berry pleased to be back punting for the Steelers

No hard feelings.

When you spent five years with an organization, the ties aren’t severed in a mere six weeks.

“It’s a great team, and I have a lot of friends here,” Jordan Berry said of the Pittsburgh Steelers. “Of of all the opportunities I could have gotten, this is the best one, and I am obviously very happy to be back.”

The Steelers’ punter from 2015-19 who was cut a week prior to this season’s opener, Berry was brought back last week. He made his second Steelers debut during Sunday’s win at Tennessee but practiced with the team – and spoke with the media – for the first time since Wednesday his re-signing became official Saturday.

Cut Sept. 7 in favor in 16-year veteran Dustin Colquitt, Berry was brought in early last week after their frustration with Colquitt’s underperformance came to a head. Because of covid-19 protocols, though, Berry had to wait five days before he could join his new/old teammates.

“Just one of those things in this game,” Berry said of his release last month. “They’ve got to (evaluate) a lot of things, performance and salary cap and all sorts of different things put it together, so they just said it was a combination and felt they had to let me go there at the start. But obviously, I was lucky enough to come back and get my job back.”

Berry’s return was a triumphant one as he booted 51- and 49-yard punts that each pinned the Titans inside their 20 yard line and resulted in a small-sample net average of 47.5. Berry also held without issue for five Chris Boswell successful placekicks.

“Quality punting by Berry,” coach Mike Tomlin said.

The effort capped a unique week of semi-isolation at the Pittsburgh-area home he kept while he and the Steelers awaited coronavirus test results. Berry’s wife and newborn had moved to her native Kentucky – a move that Berry was completing the week before the Steelers called.

“Although I was disappointed being let go, I wasn’t really going to push (away) an opportunity to come back because there’s still a lot of people in the building that wanted me here,” Berry said. “So when I got the opportunity to come back, I obviously wanted to come back and do my best for those guys who wanted to keep me in the job initially.”

A native of Australia but a permanent resident of the U.S., Berry’s brother postponed a spring wedding after the covid-19 pandemic hit. Berry said his brother is hoping to re-schedule the ceremony for spring – but if all goes as planned, Berry will still be employed, and the Steelers will still be playing.

“It’s just good to be back here and play,” Berry said. “You never want to turn down an opportunity to play at this level. You are playing professionally, and not a lot of people get that opportunity, so if you get a chance you have to take it.”

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