The release of veteran kicker Shaun Suisham to a failed physical clears the path for Chris Boswell, who can build on his excellent season with the Steelers.
Here's what you need to know about Boswell:
* Boswell's simplistic approach to kicking is working: When Boswell first got to Pittsburgh, it was a tumultuous time for the kicking unit. Boswell was the fourth kicker to join the roster in less than three months. He replaced the struggling Josh Scobee. But Boswell wasn't fazed, and it showed in his kicking.
"Get touchbacks and put the ball through the pipes," Boswell, who made 29-of-32 kicks, said on his first day in the locker room.
Boswell considers kicking "90 percent mental."
* Boswell comes on the cheap: His base salary for 2016 is $525,000, the final year of a two-year contract signed last year. Suisham was due $2.4 million in salary and his cap number was $3.5 million, so the Steelers get some relief in this area. Another big year would set up Boswell, 25, for a new contract after the season, unless the team negotiates with him beforehand.
* Boswell kicks like a Brazilian soccer player: Boswell's father lived in Brazil before he was born, which meant Boswell played soccer "as soon as I could walk," around age 3. This taught Boswell the art of placing the ball where he wants it, which helps him now. Boswell was a defender who played in high school but gave up the sport when he got a football scholarship to Rice.
