Steelers bring back journeyman kicker Matthew Wright

Chris Adamski | Wednesday, April 10, 2024 5:11 p.m.

Shown while kicking for them during a November 2022 game, kicker Matthew Wright signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday. It is Wright’s fourth tour with the franchise.

Matthew Wright is back for a fourth tour with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A journeyman veteran kicker, Wright signed with the Steelers on Tuesday. He initially joined the team as an undrafted free agent out of UCF in 2019, returned to the practice squad in 2020 to appear in three games and then in 2022 filled in for an injured Chris Boswell for four games.

Wright, 28, has kicked 24 games in the NFL:seven for the Steelers, 14 in 2021 for the Jacksonville Jaguars, two for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2022 and during the Carolina Panthers’ season finale this past January. He also has spent time on the practice squads of three other teams and had multiple tenures with the Panthers and Chiefs.

An all-time performance from the Chiefs crowd at Arrowhead tonight.

Loud applause and cheers after Matthew Wright’s 59-yard FG immediately back to booing the crap out of the refs.

A masterclass. pic.twitter.com/Cn4az0IGio

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) October 11, 2022

The Steelers always take two kickers to training camp, although typically the second kicker is a rookie or younger player. Ten-year veteran Boswell is 33 but is coming off one of the most consistent seasons of his career. Boswell missed only three placekicks — an extra point, a 61-yard field goal try before halftime of a game against Jacksonville and a 45-yarder during a December loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

Wright has converted 40 of 47 field goals and is 35-for-37 on extra points in his career, twice making career-long 59-yard field goals.