Player: P Cameron Johnston
Stock Value: Purchased
Reasoning: In a move that other transactions forced under the radar, the Steelers recently signed their franchise punter in Cameron Johnston. Giving up on Pressley Harvin III after three seasons, they committed to the 32-year-old on a three-year, $9 million deal.
Steelers fans are in too much shock over the moves at quarterback to celebrate the arrival of an actual punter. After three years of the wildly inconsistent Pressley Harvin III, the team let him go and found a stable alternative. At least, that is what they hope they’ve just paid for in Cameron Johnston.
An Australia native, Johnston attended Ohio State and went undrafted in 2017. He earned a job with the Philadelphia Eagles the following year, serving three seasons. In 2021, he signed with the Houston Texans, where he played until signing with the Steelers.
Johnston averages 42.2 net punt yards for his career and 47.3 gross yards. On the whole, he has improved over the course of his six years. He posted a career-high 43.7 net yards per punt during the Texans’ 2023 playoff season.
Notably, Johnston has never averaged worse than 40.6 net yards nor 46.4 gross yards. His consistency over a six-year body of work is very attractive, even if he is already 32 years old. Punters last longer than most other players in the NFL, however, so age shouldn’t factor much right now.
The Steelers elected not to try to land another punter in the draft, instead opting for a proven commodity. I personally believe they made the right call here, and Johnston has consistently been among the NFL’s better punters.
That’s why he costs $3 million a year, tied for the fourth-highest average annual salary among punters. The Texans replaced him with a player with a similar resume, Tommy Townsend, on a similar but shorter contract. All things considered, punter is one of the positions at which it’s cheapest to pay for the best.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
