Pittsburgh Steelers claim punter Braden Mann off waivers from New York Jets

The Pittsburgh Steelers added a new specialist to the roster on Friday. The Steelers claimed former New York Jets punter Braden Mann off the waiver wire, according to ESPN’s Field Yates.

Mann was a 6th round pick by the Jets in the 2020 NFL Draft. He spent three seasons with the Jets as the primary punter before being put on waivers this offseason. He played 16 games his rookie season and 17 last year, while only playing 10 in 2021. Mann averaged 39.5 net yards per punt in the NFL.

The Jets drafted Mann out of Texas A&M, where he spent two seasons as the primary punter. In 26 games for the Aggies in 2018 and 2019, Mann averaged 48.9 yards per punt and was one of the best punters in college football. He earned the Ray Guy Award, given annually to the best punter in college football.

More on the 2023 NFL offseason, free agency

The NFL 2023 calendar year is set to begin at 4 p.m. ET on March 15 when contracts running through 2022 will officially run out, making those players free agents. Prior to the beginning of free agency, teams will have a chance to designate one franchise or transition tag player, starting on Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. ET and ending on March 7. Beginning March 13 through March 15 teams will be allowed a legal negotiation with players who are set to become unrestricted free agents.

In addition to NFL free agency, the new year also marks the beginning of all trades being made official by the league office. April 21 marks the deadline to sign restricted free agents to offer sheets while April 26 marks the deadline for teams to match restricted free agent offers sheets. 722 players are slated to become free agents in 2023.

More on restricted, exclusive rights free agents

Players with only three years of accredited NFL experience become restricted free agents. Their original team will have the option to apply first-round, second-round, original-round, and right-of-fight-of-first-refusal tenders on players at escalating price tags. The higher the round, the more expensive the tender amount; however, if a separate team does offer a contract and the original team does not match that round pick will be conveyed from the new team to the original team. Right of first refusal only gives a team the option to match or not. If they don’t match, they get nothing in return. An original-round tender would send a draft pick from whatever round the player was drafted back to the original team if they chose not to match. The original team will have five days to match once a player signs an offer sheet from a new team.