The Steelers lose Cameron Johnston: how long will he be out for?

The Pittsburgh Steelers kicked off the 2024 NFL season with a 18-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedez-Benz Stadium. However, it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Mike Tomlin’s team who have lost one of their best players for the rest of the season.

Johnston injured in the fourth quarter

Cameron Johnston suffered a season-ending knee injury. The punter was hit by Khadarel Hodge while attempting a punt with 3:40 left in the fourth quarter and the score at 15-10. The play was nullified by a penalty on Miles Killebrew and kicker Chris Boswell had to punt on the next attempt.

Before the injury, Johnston had two punts for 103 yards. The first was a 45-yarder that ended at the 10-yard line. The second was a 58-yarder that ended at the Atlanta 21-yard line. The Australian was looking to be one of the year’s top punters after spending three seasons in Houston and averaging 47.7 yards per attempt as a senior.

Steelers sign Corliss Waitman

Following Johnston's release, the Steelers looked for a familiar face to fill the punter position. The team announced that it signed Corliss Waitman, who played for Pittsburgh in 2021. The specialist saw action in two games, made seven punts for 365 yards and his average was 52.1. Since then, the South Alabama graduate had stints with the Las Vegas Raiders, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Chicago Bears before returning to the Steel City.

The Steelers signed Johnston to a three-year contract worth $9,000,000 ($2,875,000 guaranteed and a $2,875,000 signing bonus) in March. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent after the 2017 NFL Draft and, spending three years with the Philadelphia Eagles before joining the Houston Texans for $8 million in 2021.

Johnston played four seasons at Ohio State where he was named Big Ten Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year and was a second-team All-America selection his senior year.