Steelers cut kicker Suisham after failed physical

Calling the torn ACL he suffered almost 11 months ago “catastrophic,” Shaun Suisham sounded content Friday in a statement he released after the Steelers announced they were cutting the veteran kicker.

“My journey in the NFL has come to a crossroads,” Suisham wrote.

“Undoubtedly, I will miss the challenge of game day and the preparation that is required,” he wrote, strongly hinting at retirement but not using the word. “Change is hard, but I'm comfortable with where I am in life as a husband and father.”

Five weeks before the start of training camp, the Steelers released Suisham with a failed physical designation.

Suisham was the Steelers kicker from when he was signed during the 2010 season until he was injured attempting to make a tackle in the Hall of Fame preseason game Aug. 9. His release assures Chris Boswell, barring injury, will open the season as the Steelers kicker after he solidified the position over the second half of last season.

“Unfortunately Shaun incurred a setback in his recovery from knee surgery that won't allow him to compete in a timely manner,” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement. “Shaun has played a significant role in our success during his time in Pittsburgh. He has been the consummate professional on the field and in our community. We wish he and his family all the best in the future.”

Suisham was 124 for 141 in field-goal attempts and made all 173 of his extra-point attempts with the Steelers. A native of Canada, the 34-year-old became a U.S. citizen during a February naturalization ceremony in Wilkins.

Throughout the offseason and his recovery, he remained steadfast that he intended to win his job back, but he acknowledged to the Tribune-Review earlier this month that when it came to kicking he was “not there yet.”

But Friday, Suisham said, “Unfortunately, the injury… was catastrophic and has proven to be critical to continuing my career.”

Boswell made 29 of 32 field-goal attempts — coincidentally, the same stat line Suisham had in 2014 — upon being signed before Week 5 last season as the Steelers' fourth kicker in less than two months.

The 25-year-old Boswell will make $525,000 this season.Suisham was due $2.4 million with a cap hit of about $3.5 million. Cutting Suisham now means that amount will be spread over the Steelers' salary cap this season and next.

There are no other kickers on the training camp roster. Before last season, the Steelers typically had two during the preseason.

Suisham's first training camp with the Steelers was as a rookie out of Bowling Green in 2005. He spent parts of the next five years bouncing between teams — appearing in regular-season games with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins — before the Steelers brought him back to replace an ineffective Jeff Reed before Week 10 of the 2010 season.

Suisham titled his statement, “Thank you Pittsburgh and all of Steelers Nation!”

“I will always be grateful to every team and coach that has given me an opportunity in the NFL,” he said. “I am especially grateful to everyone — teammates, coaches and fans — in our adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, Pa.”

To take Suisham's roster spot, the Steelers signed running back Brandon Johnson. The 6-foot-2, 228-pound Johnson was a walk-on at Penn State who played sparingly on offense in college after two major lower-body injuries in high school. He played extensively on special teams last season.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.