With veteran P Cameron Johnston dealing with a season-ending knee injury, the Pittsburgh Steelers spent Monday working out a slew of punters while bringing in a pair of long snappers. Per Aaron Wilson via the league’s transaction sheet, the team brought in six punters and ultimately signed ex-Steeler Corliss Waitman.
The other five brought in were Jack Browning, Trenton Gill, Matt Haack, Austin McNamara, and Porter Wilson. They also brought in LS Rex Sunahara and Tucker Addington.
Browning kicked and punted at San Diego State and spent time with the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills this offseason. He’s yet to appear in an NFL game. Gill served as the Chicago Bears starting punter in 2022 and 2023, averaging a combined 46.1 yards per punt on 133 attempts. He lost his starting role when the team selected Iowa’s Tory Taylor in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Haack is a veteran who most recently appeared in regular season action for the Cleveland Browns last year, punting three times in one appearance. He served as the Miami Dolphins’ starter from 2017 to 2020 and has spent time with the Buffalo Bills and Indianapolis Colts. McNamara is an undrafted rookie who played college ball at Texas Tech, averaging 46.3 yards per punt last season for the Red Raiders. He spent time with the Cincinnati Bengal this offseason but was waived early in camp.
Waitman was ultimately brought back by the team, likely because of his big leg and familiarity with the team, helping reduce the learning curve of being the holder for LS Christian Kuntz and K Chris Boswell. WR Scotty Miller served as the emergency holder after Johnston left Sunday’s game with a season-ending knee injury.
Wilson is a UDFA from Duke with good size. He averaged nearly 47 yards per punt last season for the Blue Devils. He was invited to the Green Bay Packers rookie minicamp in May.
Bringing in long snappers helps evaluate punters through their workouts and is standard practice. It shouldn’t be considered a threat to Christian Kuntz’s starting job.
Sunahara has had multiple stints with Pittsburgh, signed in December 2021, January 2022, and June 2023. He was initially brought in on the practice squad as a COVID emergency backup before being carried during the spring of 2022. Pittsburgh signed him in June 2023 before releasing him near the end of August.
He played college ball at Rhode Island and West Virginia but has yet to appear in a regular-season game. Sunahara spent part of 2024 in the Cleveland Browns’ training camp.
Addington was most recently with the New England Patriots, finishing a second stint with them. Undrafted out of Sam Houston State, he’s also spent time with the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Commanders, and Jacksonville Jaguars. He does have some NFL experience, appearing in three games with the Patriots in 2022 and three more with the Commanders in 2023. He’s made one career tackle.
