The Pittsburgh Steelers have released punter Cameron Johnston, meaning that Corliss Waitman has won the battle. Johnston, who was in the second year of a three-year, $9 million contract, will save the Steelers some money on their cap space.
Waitman is in the final year of his two-year contract. He took over for Johnston in 2024 after the Australian punter suffered a serious season-ending knee injury in the team’s opening game against the Atlanta Falcons.
The key separator for the Steelers between Waitman and Johnston were a few factors. For one, Waitman helped lead Chris Boswell to an All-Pro season as a kicker while being Boswell’s holder. That operation will now stay in tact.
Second, Waitman had much better hang time stats than Johnston did in the preseason. Overall, Waitman had 4.88 seconds of hang time, the best mark among punters in the preseason, while Johnston had 4.20 hang time per punt, 30th in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus.
Lastly, Waitman is a left-footed punter, which has a different spin on the football, often causing returners to struggle with handling those punts and that can lead to muffs.
Either way, Johnston is likely to find another spot shortly. The Steelers have yet to officially release him as they shop Johnston to potential trade partners around the league.
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