Exit Meeting: P Corliss Waitman
Experience: 3 Years
Steelers fans called for the team to keep Corliss Waitman back in 2021, but they didn’t get their wish. Not until 2024, at least. Pittsburgh brought him back that year, and he unseated incumbent punter Pressley Harvin III, who was a draft pick. While he has some things going for him, is he the Steelers’ answer?
One thing we really have to say about the Steelers’ punting history is that, generally, they have fallen below the average. Corliss Waitman is posting the best numbers in team history, but they’re barely above average. Last season, for example, he averaged 41.7 yards per punt, and the league averaged 41.3. The year before, he averaged 41.9 yards when the league averaged 41.6.
Both years, he finished outside the top 10 in one of the most important punting statistics. While field position will affect net punting yards, it’s a good barometer. He also wasn’t far above the league average in punts pinned inside the 20.
But the thing is, Corliss Waitman’s tape has a lot of inconsistency. That is what cost Pressley Harvin III his job. You never know if you’re going to get a booming punt or a shank. And Waitman doesn’t even have the big leg that Harvin did—though his shank rate is also lower.
Not so low that you don’t contemplate what to do with Waitman, though. And lest we forget, the Steelers just changed coaching staffs. Danny Smith, as special teams coordinator, is gone, so there is no loyalty involved. If Danny Crossman doesn’t think Waitman is his answer, then they have to look elsewhere.
And Mike Tomlin and Danny Smith had a particular philosophy when it came to punting. They favored lower gross punting yardage to minimize returns and angled kicking toward the sidelines. Tomlin and Smith are no longer here; Mike McCarthy and Crossman are now in those posts. Does Corliss Waitman have what they will be looking for out of their punting game, including consistency?
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves licking their wounds after yetanother early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, but with major change coming. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we willgo down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? The resignation of Mike Tomlin makes those questions much more difficult to answer, but much more important. We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
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