The Pittsburgh Steelers have a punter battle on their hands. Special teams coach Danny Smith called it one back on July 30, and Mike Tomlin reiterated that it is a battle between Corliss Waitman and Cameron Johnston before the team’s first preseason game. With Johnston and Waitman each punting in Pittsburgh’s 31-25 preseason win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, it’s clear that the Steelers have a legitimate position battle on their hands.
Both Johnston and Waitman have unleashed some solid punts during training camp, and that continued during the game. Johnston punted twice, with a long of 52 yards coming on his second punt and a 47-yard net, pinning the Jags inside their own 20-yard line. His first punt wasn’t bad either, traveling 42 yards to the Jaguars’ 13-yard line, but it was returned for 10 yards. Still, it didn’t give Jacksonville good field position, and Johnston did his job.
Waitman’s lone punt of the night was a booming 57 yarder with a 51-yard net. While the assumption heading into training camp was that Johnston would win the job easily, Waitman’s making him fight for it. Johnston might be ahead right now, given that he got the first punt of the game, but Waitman could be closing the gap.
During Pittsburgh’s most recent training camp practice last Thursday, both Waitman and Johnston had multiple punts over 60 yards, while Johnston boomed a 70 yarder. After Johnston tore his ACL in Week 1 last season, Waitman came in and gave the Steelers some of the best punting they’ve had in years. Now that Johnston has recovered, the Steelers have two talented punters going at it.
For a team that’s struggled with its punting situation for most of the last decade, having two punters who are both more than worthy of being NFL starters is a good problem to have. It’s a battle that, as Tomlin said on Friday, likely won’t be decided until the end of the preseason, so the next two in-stadium opportunities are going to be important for both Johnston and Waitman.
Ultimately, it may be hard for Waitman to gain the upper hand in the competition. Johnston was one of the league’s best punters before the Steelers signed him last offseason, and he’s done well so far. There are also financial considerations, as the Steelers would have more dead cap money on their books if they cut Johnston and keep Waitman.
If Waitman keeps playing as well as he has, though, he could offer late-round trade value for a punter-needy team. Although, as the Steelers saw with P Braden Mann, it’s not always easy to get teams to give up draft capital for a punter.
Waitman isn’t going quietly, though, and it’s going to be fun to watch the two battle each other in the final two preseason games and see if one of them can really gain the upper hand on winning the job.
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