The Atlanta Falcons have signed former Steelers K Ben Sauls to their practice squad, the team announced today. Atlanta also signed WR Deven Tompkins to its practice squad.
Sauls signed with the Steelers in late April as an undrafted free agent after a successful career at Pitt. He was 52-of-64 on field goals his last three seasons at Pitt, and during the preseason, he went 5-of-6 on field goals with the Steelers, with one of those makes coming from 50 yards out.
With Chris Boswell on the roster, Sauls had no chance to crack the Steelers’ 53-man roster, but given his preseason performance, the team tried to field trade offers for him ahead of final cutdowns. Nothing came to fruition, and Sauls was a part of the team’s final roster cuts, but it’s not surprising to see him get another opportunity.
Acrisure Stadium is one of the hardest places to kick, and Sauls experienced that not only with the Steelers but also at Pitt. He participated in the East-West Shrine Bowl and was considered one of the best rookie kickers in this class.
He’ll join a Falcons team that’s struggled with kicking this season. Younghoe Koo was replaced after missing a game-winning kick in Week 1, but his replacement in Parker Romo went 0-of-2 on field goals in Week 3. He made all five of his tries in Week 2, leading to the team waiving Koo.
Now, given Romo’s struggles in Atlanta’s Week 3 loss, Sauls has a real chance to contribute and potentially take over as Atlanta’s kicker.
“We’ve got to bring competition in. That’s what we got to do. You have to do that until you get it right,” Falcons HC Raheem Morris said Monday about adding another kicker.