As the NFL’s mandatory roster cutdown deadline approaches, the Pittsburgh Steelers are getting busy. The transaction front isn’t slowing down for anyone, especially general manager Omar Khan.
Monday afternoon sees Pittsburgh gain some clarity regarding special teams. The Steelers decided on the roster battle between Corliss Waitman and Cameron Johnston.
Pittsburgh Informs Punter Cameron Johnston of Release
In a move that many would classify as a shock, Johnston is being released. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media first reported the news, with Brooke Pryor of ESPN adding further context.
“It was a tight competition through camp, but the Steelers appear to go with Corliss Waitman as their punter,” Pryor wrote. “Signed after Johnston’s season-ending knee injury, Waitman averaged 46.6 YPP in 2024.”
Johnston’s time with the Steelers comes to an end early in his three-year, $9 million contract. The 33-year-old signed with Pittsburgh an offseason ago, presumably to be their established punter of the present and future. Unfortunately, he made just two punts in 2024-25 before suffering a season-ending knee injury. That forced Pittsburgh to turn to Waitman the rest of the way.
In 16 games with Pittsburgh last season, Waitman booted 65 punts. He averaged 46.4 yards per attempt with a net average of 41.4 yards. His longest punt was 71 yards. Waitman’s 27 punts inside the 20-yard line were tied for 11th in the league.
By cutting Johnston, the Steelers will save $2.5M against the cap while incurring just over $958,000 in dead money. With seven accrued seasons, Johnston is a vested veteran who won’t be subject to the NFL’s waiver wire entering the regular season.
This preseason, Waitman simply outplayed Johnston. The former averaged 53.2 yards per punt with a 44.6-yard net average, whereas the latter’s numbers were 42.3 and 35.8, respectively.
This story is being updated.
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