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Mathew Sexton has been a standout this preseason when it comes to punt returns, producing a 36-yard punt return against the Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game and then having a 47 yarder against the Lions this past Saturday night.
Sexton will have one last chance tomorrow night when the Steelers take on the Panthers to show the coaching staff that he deserves a roster spot. And when Mike Tomlin spoke with the media yesterday, he referenced Stefan Logan, who made the team in 2009 by returning a punt for an 80-yard touchdown in the preseason finale against the Panthers.
"You know that's the beauty of this process," Tomlin said. "We were studying the history of the series this morning in a team meeting and talking about what a platform this game is for guys to springboard to success. We talked about a guy about 10 years ago named Stefan Logan, you know that nobody knew and really didn't have a position. He added the return game and he had about an 80-yard punt return the Carolina preseason game and really ran his way onto the football team.
"Matt had some moments and he'll have an opportunity to put an exclamation point on his work like a lot of guys will."
Sexton will have to beat out Ray-Ray McCloud for a spot on the 53-man roster as the fifth wide receiver, and if he has another explosive punt return tomorrow night, McCloud might just be expendable. Regardless, I believe Sexton has shown enough that he deserves at least a spot on the practice squad.