The Pittsburgh Steelers let their punting battle play out through the final preseason game last Thursday night against the Carolina Panthers, and they’ve now apparently made their decision.
According to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport, the Steelers are releasing Cameron Johnston, meaning Corliss Waitman has seemingly won the punting competition under special teams coordinator Danny Smith.
The Steelers signed Johnston to a three-year deal in free agency last offseason to solidify their punting position for the foreseeable future. Early returns were very good on Johnston, but in the fourth quarter of the season opener against the Atlanta Falcons last September, Johnson was hit in his plant leg on a punt and suffered a season-ending knee injury.
That opened the door for Waitman.
He came in off the street and punted very well for the Steelers while also holding in a record-setting season for kicker Chris Boswell.
Entering training camp, the two found themselves in one of the only real starting job battles that were up for grabs. Based on training camp and the preseason, the Steelers are rolling with Waitman for another season, cutting ties with Johnston, who is healthy and now has a chance to land on his feet elsewhere.
Prior to the injury against the Falcons, Johnston recorded two punts for 103 yards with a long of 58 yards, downing one inside the 20-yard line. But the knee injury was gruesome and put him on the shelf for the rest of the season.
One man’s misfortunate is another man’s opportunity, and to Waitman’s credit, he took the opening and ran with it. Waitman set a franchise record for net yards per punt last season, doing a nice job as the Steelers leaned on defense and special teams at times last season.
Coming into the 2025 season, it was believed that with Johnston fully healthy and booming punts in training camp that his contract would help him remain on the roster. But the Steelers had other ideas and let go of the veteran punter. Johnston will carry a dead cap charge of $958,333 in 2025 and $958,334 in 2026, according to Steelers Depot’s Dave Bryan.
In the preseason finale against Carolina, Waitman punted once for 35 yards, while Johnston had one punt for 33 yards. In the preseason overall, Waitman punted five times for 266 yards, averaging 53.2 yards with a long of 64 yards. Johnston, on the other foot, punted six times for 254 yards, averaging 42.3 yards.
It was a great battle throughout training camp and the preseason, but now the position is set with Waitman for the 2025 season, keeping continuity with Boswell and long snapper Christian Kuntz for another season.
