The Steelers made a move at kicker Friday, sending veteran Chris Boswell to IR and signing Matt McCrane in his place.
While Boswell is coming off one of his strongest showings this season — going 2-for-2 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points against the Saints — he emerged from that game banged up, and the Steelers were forced to act.
"Boz experienced some discomfort on Sunday in performing in the game," Mike Tomlin told media after Friday's practice at the Rooney Complex. "His usual workday is Thursday, so we waited to see the ramifications of that yesterday. He was a full participant yesterday, man, but felt some discomfort after. We felt it was necessary to make a move."
McCrane is no stranger to the Steelers organization. He was brought in earlier this month along with veteran kicker Kai Forbath to compete for Boswell's job. The Steelers stuck with Boswell after that workout, but following the injury sustained during the Saints game, they had to make some calls. With Forbath, who currently kicks for the Jaguars, out of the equation, McCrane was their guy.
"We had worked Matt out a number of weeks ago, so it was a matter of a quick phone call and flying him in, so that's what we did there," Tomlin said.
Quick, indeed. McCrane just got into Pittsburgh late last night, and he barely had time to clean his golf shoes before boarding the plane.
"I stayed ready," McCrane told me after Friday's practice. "You just kind of pack a bag and hope for a call. I was playing golf on the 18th green when I got a call so I went straight to the airport and told my fiancee that I'll see her soon. That's the way it works. That's the life of a kicker."
McCrane will be thrown into the fire. The Steelers (8-6-1) find themselves in a must-win situation Sunday as they take on the Bengals (6-9) at Heinz Field. If the Steelers win and the Browns (7-7-1) defeat the Ravens (9-6), they will make the postseason. Adding onto this, the matchup vs. the Bengals represents an AFC North rivalry game, something that always ups the intensity on the field.
To McCrane, none of that matters. He's here to perform, and he's taking things one step at a time.
"Every kick is the same," McCrane said. "You try not to think about it."
While McCrane is a newcomer to the Steelers, he is not a newcomer to the NFL, having spent time with both the Oakland Raiders and the Arizona Cardinals earlier this year. Between those two teams, he was 5-for-9 on field goal attempts and 8-for-8 on extra points.
"I think they were tough situations in Oakland," McCrane said. "The 57-yarder that I hit, I hit it pretty pure, but it's kind of like a Hail Mary. Some of the others, I don't have an excuse for, they were misses. With Arizona, I was perfect, really. I didn't miss in the preseason then did well the last couple games... They ended up going with Zane (Gonzalez) but it's just staying ready."