Christian Kuntz

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

Christian Kuntz
Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Long snapper
Linebacker
Personal information
Born: (1994-04-13) April 13, 1994
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:228 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school:Chartiers Valley
(Bridgeville, Pennsylvania)
College:Duquesne
Undrafted:2017
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Roster status:Reserve/Future
Career NFL statistics as of 2020
Games played:0
Games started:0
Player stats at NFL.com

High school career

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 FCS 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][6] Kuntz finished 12th in the voting for the 2016 Buck Buchanan Award.[7]

Professional career

New England Patriots

After going undrafted in 2017, Kuntz was signed by the New England Patriots on August 28, 2017.[3] He was waived the following day.[5] After his experience with the Patriots, Kuntz decided to focus more on being a long snapper.[8]

Denver Broncos

Kuntz was signed by the Denver Broncos on March 21, 2018.[9] He was waived on June 14.[10]

Jacksonville Jaguars

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

Pittsburgh Steelers

Kuntz was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers on August 15, 2019.[14] 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.[15]

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.[8] Five games into the season, the XFL season was cancelled due to the coronavirus 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 Pittsburgh Steelers on March 30, 2020.[6] 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. He was again released on January 6, 2021. On January 15, 2021, Kuntz signed a reserve/futures contract with the Steelers.[22]

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