Christian Kuntz Explained

Christian Kuntz
Current Team:Pittsburgh Steelers
Number:46
Position:Long snapper
Birth Date:April 13, 1994
Birth Place:Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:1
Weight Lb:227
Undraftedyear:2017
High School:Chartiers Valley
(Bridgeville, Pennsylvania)
College:Duquesne
Pastteams:
Status:Active
Statseason:2023
Statlabel1:Games played
Statvalue1:51
Statlabel2:Total tackles
Statvalue2:7
Pfr:KuntCh02

Christian Kuntz (born April 13, 1994) is an American professional football long snapper for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Duquesne.

Early life

Kuntz is the son of Kathy and Theo Kuntz and he has two brothers, Jimmy and Louis. He attended Chartiers Valley High School in Pennsylvania, where he played basketball and football. Kuntz suffered a ruptured spleen prior to his senior season of football, forcing him to miss the season.[1] On the basketball court, he won a WPIAL title alongside future NBA player and friend T. J. McConnell.[2]

College career

Kuntz played linebacker at Duquesne. During his sophomore season, he tore his ACL.[1] As a junior, he had 26 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, six pass breakups and four interceptions. Kuntz recorded 24 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks in his senior season.[3] He finished his collegiate career with a school-record 30.5 sacks and his 71.5 career tackles for loss rank sixth all-time on the Football Championship Subdivision list.[4] Kuntz was named a second-team Associated Press All-American in 2015 and 2016, and he was a two-time Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Year honoree.[5] Kuntz finished 12th in the voting for the 2016 Buck Buchanan Award.[6]

Professional career

New England Patriots

After going undrafted in 2017, Kuntz was signed by the New England Patriots on August 28, 2017. He was waived the following day.[7] After his experience with the Patriots, Kuntz decided to focus more on being a long snapper.

Denver Broncos

Kuntz was signed by the Denver Broncos on March 21, 2018.[8] He was waived on June 14.[9]

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him to their practice squad on December 17.[10] Kuntz signed a futures contract with the Jaguars on December 31.[11] He was waived on June 13, 2019.[12]

Pittsburgh Steelers (first stint)

Kuntz was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 15, 2019.[13] He played in the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers and had five tackles and a sack.[4] Kuntz was waived during final roster cuts on August 31.[14]

Dallas Renegades

His performance in the preseason drew the attention of former Dallas Cowboys fullback Daryl Johnston, the director of player personnel of the Dallas Renegades of the XFL. Johnston was impressed by Kuntz's abilities as a long snapper and he suggested to assistant coach Kenny Perry that they sign him as a long snapper. Even though the Renegades already had a long snapper, Kuntz got the job due to his superior coverage abilities.[15] Five games into the season, the XFL season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] He had his contract terminated when the league suspended operations on April 10, 2020.[16]

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

Kuntz was signed by the Steelers on March 30, 2020.[5] He was waived on August 2.[17]

Kuntz had a tryout with the Houston Texans on August 20, 2020,[18] and with the Indianapolis Colts on August 23.[19] On November 24, the Steelers signed Kuntz to their practice squad.[20] He was released on December 23, 2020,[21] and re-signed to the practice squad on December 29, 2020.[22] He was again released on January 6, 2021.[23] On January 14, 2021, Kuntz signed a reserve/futures contract with the Steelers.[24]

On February 22, 2023, Kuntz re-signed with the Steelers on a one-year contract.[25]

On March 14, 2024, Kuntz signed a three-year contract extension with the Steelers.[26]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Bailey . Eleanor . April 7, 2020 . Former Duquesne standout hopes career with Steelers will be a snap . April 24, 2020 . Observer–Reporter.
  2. News: Adamski . Chris . August 15, 2019 . Steelers sign Chartiers Valley, Duquesne alum Christian Kuntz . April 24, 2020 . Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  3. News: Dillon . Kevin . August 28, 2017 . New England Patriots add three new DE/OLB undrafted rookies in Christian Kuntz, Mikey Bart, Nick Usher . August 28, 2017 . MassLive.
  4. News: Rutter . Joe . March 27, 2020 . Chartiers Valley, Duquesne alum Christian Kuntz returns to Steelers roster . April 24, 2020 . Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  5. News: Varley . Teresa . March 30, 2020 . Steelers sign three free agents . April 24, 2020 . Steelers.com.
  6. News: May 2, 2017 . Chartiers Valley graduates picked as NFL free agents . April 24, 2020 . The Almanac.
  7. News: August 29, 2017 . Patriots acquire LB Marquis Flowers in a Trade with Cincinnati; Release LB Christian Kuntz . August 31, 2017 . Patriots.com . en.
  8. News: March 21, 2018 . Broncos sign K Taylor Bertolet, LS Christian Kuntz . April 24, 2020 . Broncos.com.
  9. News: DiLalla . Aric . June 14, 2018 . Broncos waive Nick Stevens, Christian Kuntz . April 24, 2020 . Broncos.com.
  10. Web site: Day . Ryan . December 17, 2018 . Jaguars sign LS Christian Kuntz to practice squad . April 24, 2020 . Big Cat Country . SB Nation.
  11. News: December 31, 2018 . Jaguars' Christian Kuntz: Signs futures deal . April 24, 2020 . CBS Sports.
  12. News: June 13, 2019 . Jaguars announce roster moves . April 24, 2020 . Jaguars.com.
  13. News: Varley . Teresa . August 15, 2019 . Steelers sign two, release two . April 24, 2020 . Steelers.com.
  14. News: Varley . Teresa . August 31, 2019 . Steelers make roster cuts . April 24, 2020 . Steelers.com.
  15. News: Curti . Chuck . February 6, 2020 . Chartiers Valley grad Christian Kuntz gets new football life as XFL long snapper . April 24, 2020 . Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
  16. News: Condotta, Bob . April 10, 2020 . XFL suspends operations, terminates all employees, but Jim Zorn says he has hopes league will continue . July 17, 2020 . SeattleTimes.com.
  17. Web site: Varley . Teresa . August 2, 2020 . Samuels, Washington placed on reserve/COVID-19 list . August 21, 2020 . Steelers.com.
  18. Web site: Davis . Josh . August 21, 2020 . More Former XFL Players Have Workouts With NFL Teams . August 21, 2020 . XFL News Hub.
  19. 1297633729515524098 . AlbertBreer . And here's today's tryout/visit list. Ex-Ohio State QB Cardale Jones and ex-Lions RB Theo Riddick worked out for Vegas. . August 23, 2020 . August 24, 2020.
  20. Web site: Varley . Teresa . November 24, 2020 . Steelers activate McDonald; make other roster moves . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20201202134055/https://www.steelers.com/news/steelers-activate-mcdonald-make-other-roster-moves . December 2, 2020 . November 24, 2020 . Steelers.com.
  21. News: Varley, Teresa . December 23, 2020 . Steelers make roster moves . February 7, 2021 . Steelers.com . January 26, 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210126234317/https://www.steelers.com/news/steelers-make-roster-moves-x1459 . dead .
  22. News: Varley, Teresa . December 29, 2020 . Steelers make practice squad moves . February 10, 2021 . Steelers.com.
  23. 1346924852586962944 . Steelers . We have signed DB Trevor Williams to the practice squad & released LB/LS Christian Kuntz from the practice squad. . January 6, 2021 . February 15, 2021.
  24. Web site: Varley, Teresa . January 14, 2021 . Steelers sign 13 to Reserve/Future contracts . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210116155036/https://www.steelers.com/news/steelers-sign-13-to-reserve-future-contracts . January 16, 2021 . January 18, 2021 . Steelers.com.
  25. Web site: Varley, Teresa . February 22, 2023 . Kuntz signed to one-year contract . Steelers.com . February 23, 2023 . February 23, 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230223054148/https://www.steelers.com/news/kuntz-signed-to-one-year-contract . dead .
  26. Web site: Kuntz signed to three-year contract. Steelers.com. March 14, 2024.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Christian Kuntz".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.