The Pittsburgh Steelers’ first move of the legal tampering period last year was agreeing to terms with P Cameron Johnston, whom Mike Tomlin called the belle of the ball at the position in free agency. He looked every bit as good as advertised throughout the preseason until he suffered a major knee injury in his first regular-season game with the Steelers. He posted a fantastic update on his recovery this morning on his Instagram story.
Watch below as Johnston resumes punting for the first time since the injury.
The injury was to his right leg, which is the leg he kicks with. If you track his Instagram page, he was wearing a heavy knee brace up until his latest post on March 7. In this video he has no brace at all and appears to be punting the ball just fine with a full range of motion.
Johnston posted a video in late February of himself running on a football field, so it seems that he is on track for a return by the start of the 2025 season. At this rate, he might be ready to punt during OTAs in May.
Given the severity of the injury, his status for 2025 was up in the air, but it doesn’t feel that way anymore. The Steelers signed Johnston to a three-year contract, so he is with the team through the 2026 season unless it parts ways with him.
Corliss Waitman did an admirable job filling in for Johnston last season, but he ended up with 46.4 yards per punt and 41.4 net yards per punt. But figures were in the bottom half of the league. He was roughly average overall. Johnston can be much more than average and has a chance at instantly having the best punting season in Steeler history.
Winning the field position battle was a big part of the Steelers’ mission in 2024, so losing Johnston in Week 1 was a big blow to what they wanted to accomplish. It’s exciting to see that he will most likely be ready to go for 2025.
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