The Pittsburgh Steelers signed P Corliss Waitman on Monday to replace injured P Cameron Johnston, and the length of his deal is for two years.
According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC-2 in Houston, Waitman’s two-year contract totals out to $2.085 million. He did not receive a signing bonus or any guaranteed money as part of his two-year deal, and both of his base salaries for 2024 and 2025 are for the minimum amounts of $985,000 and $1.1 million, respectively.
With Waitman not being on the Steelers for Week 1 of the 2024 regular season, his salary will be prorated minus that first week. That results in his 2024 salary cap charge being $930,278 instead of $985,000.
The Steelers likely signed Waitman to a two-year contract under the assumption that Johnston won’t be fully recovered from the serious knee injury that he sustained in the second half of the team’s regular-season opener until later next summer. Johnston’s injury last Sunday in Atlanta was expected to require surgery. He was placed on the Reserve/Injured list on Tuesday.
While Waitman is now under contract through the 2025 season, the Steelers can easily move on from him at any time should he wind up not punting well. He will make his 2024 debut on Sunday on the road against the Denver Broncos.
Waitman originally entered the NFL in 2020 with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent out of South Alabama. He punted in two games for the Steelers during the 2021 regular season. In addition to the Steelers, Waitman has been with several other teams and that list includes the Las Vegas Raiders, New England Patriots, Broncos and Chicago Bears.
For his NFL career, Waitman has played in 19 regular-season games. He has punted 103 times for a 46.9-yard average and a net average of 41.6 yards.
