Steelers A to Z: One of the best kickers in Pitt history, Ben Sauls stays in town to start pro career

Editor’s note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2025 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 12 and July 23. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

K BEN SAULS

Experience/age: Rookie, turns 24 later this month

Contract status: $846,666 cap hit if he makes the team in 2025

The past: Sauls kicked for Pitt for four seasons – three as the primary placekicker (in 2021 as a redshirt freshman, he was the Panthers’ kickoff specialist). In 2024, Sauls was named the All-American kicker by Pro Football Focus, making 21 of his 24 field-goal attempts and all 44 extra points. That included six field goals of at least 50 yards in length and 15 successful field goal kicks in a row. He also made a 58-yarder at Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 12 against California, one yard shy of the venue record held by the Steelers’ Chris Boswell.

Over his career, Sauls made 81.2% of his field goals (52-for-64) with one blocked, and 200 of his 316 kickoffs went for touchbacks. Sauls was among the few kickers invited to the NFL combine this past late winter.

Where does Pitt find these kickers?

Ben Sauls drills a 57 yard field goal like a PAT pic.twitter.com/ZQPuPJz6To

— Official Ohio State DG (@DylanEveryday) October 25, 2024

2025 outlook: Though he went undrafted — only two kickers were selected — Sauls was quickly signed by the Steelers. The $20,000 bonus they gave him signals the Steelers targeted Sauls, with whom they had hosted a predraft meeting. Coach Mike Tomlin regularly discusses the relationships he establishes with Pitt personnel, what with the organizations sharing a training facility.

The 5-foot-10 182-pound Sauls is a legit NFL prospect, but he will have to earn his way onto a gameday roster. With the Steelers, barring injury to Boswell, that simply is not going to happen. Boswell was first-team AP NFL All Pro last season, and even at age 34, he has shown no signs of slowing down. It’s at least theoretically possible that the Steelers consider Sauls as a kickoff specialist, but there is no reason to believe coaches are unhappy with Boswell’s kicks during the first season of the dynamic kickoff rule last year.

Sauls will have plenty of opportunities to show what he can do during the preseason, and if he’s performing well at practice, that word will get out too. Again, assuming Boswell stays healthy, Sauls is auditioning for 31 other teams who might have trouble at kicker. Boswell has missed at least one game in three of the past seven seasons, too, indicating another route in which Sauls can be a mere phone call away in the case of emergency. Bottom line: If Sauls performs over the next two months, he will be kicking for someone, somewhere.