The Steelers have precisely one heated roster battle between Corliss Waitman and Cameron Johnston—their two experienced, veteran punters. A year ago, Pittsburgh signed Johnston to a three-year, $9 million contract, but he tore his ACL in the season opener. They brought back Waitman, with whom they had worked previously, and he filled in admirably.
But the Steelers also signed Waitman at that time to a two-year contract. It a wise move, given Johnston’s injury and the lack of clarity about how he would return. Since the offseason started, however, he has looked no worse for wear.
Both Corliss Waitman and Cameron Johnston have punted well in the Steelers’ two preseason games. By a quick glance, you might favor Waitman, but he has had longer fields to work with. By contrast, Johnston has stuck three of his punts inside the 20-yard line.
Push coming to shove, Brian Batko picked Corliss Waitman to win the Steelers’ punting job during his appearance on the #1 Cochran Sports Showdown last night, also copping to a bit of a contrarian take.
“He does boom the ball”, Batko said of Waitman. “He had a couple shanks last year that proved costly, like the one in Cleveland. Consistency sometimes overtakes just how far you can punt it. There might have been one last night, too, that he sort of outkicked his coverage”.
Through two preseason games, Johnston has a 38.4-yard net average on five punts. While that doesn’t sound good, it needs to be weighed against the fact that he has put 60 percent of his kicks inside the 20. Corliss Waitman, by contrast, has a 47-yard net, and 57.8-yard gross average, with a long of 64 yards. While that’s a big leg, he has had the space.
And Waitman has also allowed three of his punts to be returned, for a 14.3-yard return average. Under Danny Smith, the Steelers prioritize minimizing return opportunities. While they are working with their preseason coverage unit, he has arguably put too much mustard on his attempts.
Still, you can’t argue with a 47-yard net average, which would have been the best in the NFL by over a yard last season. As far as I could tell, it would be the longest on record. But you can’t glean anything historic from the preseason, let alone from four attempts.
One point Batko did note is that Chris Boswell had his best season with Corliss Waitman as his holder for the vast majority of the year. While not the deciding factor, it could play a tie-breaking role. Boswell hasn’t much worked at all this offseason, though—or any offseason for years.
Batko reminded us that just two years ago, the Steelers kept two punters on their initial 53-man roster. While they retained Pressley Harvin III, they briefly rostered Braden Mann too. Surely, they hoped to swing him for a draft pick. They once did that with Brad Wing. Corliss Waitman has a legitimate NFL resume, but Cameron Johnston is one of the best. If a team calls about either one of them, and offers suitable compensation, would they let the offer decide their own roster battle? There are teams in need of punters, and the Steelers have two good ones.
