Behind the Steel Curtain
Following a chest injury to Steelers’ long snapper Christian Kuntz on Saturday, the Steelers worked out four potential replacements on Sunday. Per a report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko, the Steelers hosted Rick Lovato, Jake McQuaide, Taybor Pepper, and Patrick Scales on Aug. 17.
Lovato, almost 33 years old, entered the league in 2015 as an undrafted free agent. He bounced around the NFL to start his career, spending stints with the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and Washington Football Team.
However, he eventually found a long-term job, starting for the Philadelphia Eagles from 2016-24. Over that stretch, he won two Super Bowls and made one Pro Bowl. He has 139 career game appearances.
McQuaide is another former Pro Bowler. He worked out for the Steelers around a year ago in August of 2024. Here’s what we wrote about him then:
Drafted in 2011 by the then-St. Louis Rams, he made two Pro Bowls as the team’s long snapper in his 10-year stint with the Rams. He’s since spent time with the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions. He’s struggled with injuries late in his career, not playing full seasons in 2022 and 2023. The 6’2, 247-pound specialist has 11 career tackles and has appeared in 190 career games.
Last season, the soon-to-be 38-year-old long snapped in seven games, spending time with the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings.
Pepper is another name with some familiarity with the Steelers. He was a veteran tryout during the team’s rookie minicamp in May. The 31-year-old entered the league in 2016 as an undrafted free agent, spending time with the Packers, Baltimore Ravens, New York Giants, and Dolphins. From 2021-24, he started for the San Francisco 49ers. He was released in May 2025 with exactly 100 career games played.
Scales went undrafted in 2011, initially signing with the Baltimore Ravens. He later spent stints with the Dolphins, New York Jets, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before circling back to the Ravens and playing his first two career games in 2014.
In 2015, Scales signed with the Chicago Bears, who he’d start for through the 2023 season. He missed 2024 with a back injury and is now a free agent. The 37-year-old has 122 career games played to go along with 12 tackles.
While Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said he thought the team received “good news” on Christian Kuntz following his injury, Pittsburgh’s upcoming Thursday night game has accelerated the need for a healthy long snapper in the short term.
Despite defensive lineman Logan Lee performing well in that role in place of Kuntz on Saturday, the Steelers are still looking for some outside help.
However, the team has yet to sign one of the names listed in their Sunday workouts.
