Punter Jordan Berry was in the Steelers weight room this morning, working out and not certain what his football future was going to be. He knew he gave his all throughout training camp and the preseason, but the NFL is unpredictable and he wasn't sure if he would land on the team's 53-man roster or be headed back to Australia.
Until fellow punter, and fellow Australian, Brad Wing walked in the room.
"Brad came through and congratulated me and let me know he was traded and headed off," said Berry.
It was that simple. After competing against each other on a daily basis, it was Berry who won out in the end and Wing traded to the New York Giants for a conditional seventh round draft pick.
"I didn't know if I was going to get a tryout, let alone make a team," said Berry. "It's a pretty good feeling to be able to settle down now."
Berry went to Eastern Kentucky, but after not landing a spot on an NFL roster last year returned home to Australia. The Steelers signed him in April, and the battle began, one that came down to the wire and in Berry's eyes, hang time.
"I feel like I had him a little bit on that throughout camp," said Berry. "We both did really well. Brad was a great competitor, a really good guy. I am most disappointed he had to get cut, that is the way the system is set up."
Some images of punter Jordan Berry,
While Wing was traded rather than cut, it was still tough to see a teammate who helped him from the time he arrived depart.
"Being together for four or five months and spending every day with each other you do get that bit of a work relationship going," said Berry. "Plus he is a pretty good bloke so he was great to hang out with.
"He will get to go play somewhere week one. You don't want to have to see someone do something like that, but I am happy I won the job."
Berry knows he has some challenges ahead of him still, though, including getting accustomed to the conditions at Heinz Field as the weather changes.
"It's sort of a bit of a crosswind down there," said Berry. "It's not the ideal conditions for kicking or punting. It seems like it's pretty good, though. I am looking forward to later in the year to see how it changes up."
