After three years of below-average play from former seventh-round pick Pressley Harvin III, the Pittsburgh Steelers cut ties this offseason and signed former Houston Texans punter Cameron Johnston. Before signing with the Steelers, Johnston got some encouragement from former Steelers punter Jordan Berry, who he knew through Prokick Australia, a training facility the two had both worked at. Johnston told TribLive’s Chris Adamski that Berry encouraged him to sign with the Steelers when the opportunity arose.
“I’ve known Berry really, really well for a while now, so I messaged him before signing here and asked him about the Steelers,” Johnston said, “and he said everything was great. He said everything was really, really good here, and I agree. I’ve loved it since the first day I got here. Great group of guys and I am super excited,” Johnston said via Adamski.
Johnston was the first free agent the Steelers signed after the legal tampering period opened in March, and he should be a nice upgrade at punter. For his career, Johnston has averaged 47.3 yards per punt and has cleared an average of 48 yards per punt twice in his career. For reference, Harvin’s career high was 44.5 yards per punt, while Johnston’s career low is 46.4 yards per punt, so even if he has a down season, he’ll more than likely be better than Harvin.
Berry spent six years with the Steelers, but despite their decision to move on from him after the 2020 season, it’s clear he holds no ill will toward the organization. He helped out with a kicking clinic in Ireland, praising the team to Johnston and making his decision to sign with Pittsburgh a bit easier.
For what it’s worth, Johnston has impressed so far in OTAs, with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac writing in his chat that he was “stunned” about the amount of hangtime Johnston was able to get on his punts.
” Let me say this, I was watching Cameron [Johnston] yesterday at OTAs and was stunned about the hang time he gets on his punts. Very, very impressive. I told him after I thought they were using the jugs machine for the drill.”
With how mediocre to bad the Steelers’ punting has been over the past few years, it’s refreshing to hear something positive about Pittsburgh’s punter. Partially thanks to Jordan Berry, the Steelers might wind up with some of the best special teams they’ve had in years with a massive upgrade at punter.
