To think that a couple of weeks ago, Jared Retkofsky was excited about getting a pay raise from $12 to $15 per hour at the Fort Worth moving company where he was working.
One phone call from the Steelers changed all that, and Retkofsky now finds himself manning the often-overlooked role of long snapper — a week after the job's importance became evident when an errant snap may have cost Pittsburgh a game.
Rather than hefting sofas, Retkofsky now must loft the football gently into Mitch Berger's hands on a punt, an extra point or field goal. Berger also serves as the Steelers' holder.
The skill required for a seemingly ordinary task became evident when long snapper Greg Warren went down with a knee injury during a 21-14 loss to the Giants last Sunday. Linebacker James Harrison was forced to fill in, and he snapped the ball over Berger's head for a safety that tied the score and set up new York's winning touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter.
Retkofsky, a former TCU defensive end, went to training camp with Pittsburgh as an undrafted rookie in 2007 but was cut before the season started. He returned to the Steelers in January after being released from the Seahawks' practice squad, only to be cut in June before training camp started.
The Steelers held a tryout with four snappers on Monday and decided to bring back Retkofsky, who is expected to keep the job the rest of the season.
Retkofsky was moving on from football, working for the moving company while exploring other careers, such as police work — and then the Steelers called.
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