Jeff Reed doesn't have a ton of time on his hands these days, but on Friday he had an afternoon free after attending a morning funeral. He changed out of his suit, put on some sweats, and went to a Charlotte-area park to "get the leg loose."
Just in case the Pittsburgh Steelers call.
The former Pittsburgh kicker has become quite popular over the past couple of weeks, as Josh Scobee has struggled after being traded from the Jaguars to the Steelers. Scobee's two misses on Thursday night were the difference in a gut-punch of a home loss to the division-rival Baltimore Ravens. "I feel like I let the team down," Scobee told reporters after the loss. "It's not something I want to ever remember doing."
On social media, lots of fans have clamored for Reed to return to Heinz Field, even though the Steelers cut him nearly five years ago after missing a 26-yard field goal. There's even a song making the rounds called "Bring Back Jeff Reed." (Sample lyric: “We know Jeff Reed likes to drink.”)
Reed, who is the second-leading Steelers scorer of all-time and won two Super Bowls with the team, says he hasn't kicked in about eight weeks. But he insists he could be ready for next Sunday's game if the team wants him. "After a couple of practices," he said Friday by phone, “I'd be ready.” After the loss to the Ravens, he tweeted, "Let's keep this simple … bring me back Pittsburgh!"
He's been working a sales job at a Charlotte-area Jeep dealer, which keeps him busy "from 9 to 9," he says. He admits he's not in the same shape he was at age 25, but he does circuit training regularly, which he compares to CrossFit.
The new job is more pressure than his old one, Reed says. "If you get this wrong, you can get charged with a felony," he explains. "You're not going to go to jail for missing a kick." He likes the gig, but he's already texted the Steelers several times asking for a tryout, starting when Shaun Suisham (the kicker who replaced him in Pittsburgh) went down with an injury before the season. "I told them I just want to run out of that tunnel one more time," he says.
Reed offered support for Scobee, saying he's been on the wrong side of game-changing kicks, too. "Josh is a great kicker, and I'm sure he'll bounce back," Reed said. But he also said there's a certain intricacy to kicking at Heinz Field. "No offense to the Jaguars," he said, “but there isn't much pressure kicking in Jacksonville."
He said the field in Pittsburgh had to be "steamrolled" at halftime to tamp down the turf, and the wind is often illusory. Reed believes Scobee overcompensated for the left-to-right drift on Thursday night, and pulled his attempts too much.
Reed is a bit of a cult hero in Pittsburgh, known both for his kicking prowess and for occasional transgressions off the field. Some have been as benign as bleaching his hair, and some have been as questionable as a run-in with the police after he damaged an empty paper towel dispenser at a Pennsylvania Sheetz in 2009. (Reed pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.)
On Friday he brought up the mischief without being asked.
"People say I have a drug problem, I have an alcohol problem," he offered. "I do not have a drug problem. I like to have a drink when I go out. I think a lot of people do."
Steelers fans don't seem to care. As the newly released song goes, "We just want a kicker who can kick a [expletive] field goal; bring back Jeff Reed."
He's certainly getting ready, even if it means heading out into the gloomy and breezy Charlotte conditions with his rare day off.
"Pittsburgh weather," he said.
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