It took a lengthy detour, but Nick Kwiatkoski is poised to pull off a local football trifecta.
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced the signing of Kwiatkoski on Tuesday, five days after he completed a three-day tryout during minicamp. An eight-year veteran inside linebacker who previously played for the Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders and Atlanta Falcons, Kwiatkoski is a Bethel Park alum who played collegiately at West Virginia.
Last week when minicamp opened, Kwiatkoski said he was a Steelers fan growing up.
“(Being from) Bethel Park, obviously, I was close,” he said. “Awesome opportunity for me, and I am excited about it.”
He went to high school about 10 miles down Route 19 from Pittsburgh and played in college another 80-minute drive or so to the south.
But it took until just days after his 30th birthday for Nick Kwiatkoski to suit up for the Steelers. https://t.co/bhQSYye6x0
— Tribune-Review Sports (@TribSports) June 14, 2023
Kwiatkoski has 34 starts on defense over the 89 games he has played throughout his NFL career, and as recently as 2020 he was highly regarded enough that the Raiders gave him $13 million guaranteed in a three-year, $21 million contract.
But by the second year of that deal, Kwiatkoski was a backup, and an ankle injury limited him to eight games. Last season for Atlanta, he exclusively played special teams in 12 games.
That’s likely the role the Steelers envision for the 30-year-old Kwiatkoski this season. Since the end of last season, the Steelers lost core special-teamers Marcus Allen, Derek Watt, Benny Snell and Jamir Jones.
Another former WVU player, long snapper Rex Sunahara, also signed with the Steelers on Tuesday. He will compete during training camp with two-year starter Christian Kuntz, a Chartiers Valley and Duquesne University alum.
In a corresponding roster move, receiver Anthony Miller was released. Miller was among the most veteran wide receivers on the team and a former second-round pick of the Chicago Bears. He’d been with the Steelers since 2021 but missed all of last season because of a shoulder injury and had appeared in only one regular-season game (in 2021).
Re-signed in January, Miller was originally thought to be one of the favorites to earn one of the top four receiver spots in the offense. In 50 career games, Miller has 140 catches for 1,589 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Miller seemed to allude to a release when a post to his verified Twitter account on Monday read, “Thank you Pittsburgh” with a heart emoji.
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