The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered their first season-ending injury in Week 1 when punter Cameron Johnston sustained a serious knee injury late in Pittsburgh's 18-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.
To replace Johnston, the Steelers are going back to a familiar face. The team has re-signed Corliss Waitman, a five-year veteran who has already had two previous stops in Pittsburgh.
Waitman, 29, initially signed with the Steelers in April of 2020 as an undrafted free agent. He spent the 2020 season on Pittsburgh's practice squad and was re-signed by the Steelers late in the 2021 season after two brief stints in Las Vegas and New England. Waitman made his regular season debut for the Steelers in Week 16 of the 2021 season. Against the Chiefs, Waitman had two punts that totaled 121 yards that included a 63-yard boot.
In 2022, as a member of the Denver Broncos, Waitman led the NFL with 96 punts while averaging 46.6 yards per punt. He won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week honors in Week 3 after six of his 11 punts went inside the 49ers' 20-yard-line in Denver's 11-10 win.
Waitman had another stint with the Patriots in 2023 and was most recently with the Bears, who waived him late last month.
Johnston, who was signed by the Steelers this past offseason, suffered his season-ending injury Sunday after his leg was struck during a punt late in the fourth quarter. A penalty was thrown against the Steelers on that play, which led to kicker Chris Boswell attempting his first career punt as Johnston was being tended to by Pittsburgh's medical staff. Boswell's punt went 43 yards and helped the Steelers put the final touches on their win.
The Steelers signed the 32-year-old Johnston this offseason after releasing Pressley Harvin III, the team's punter the previous three seasons. Johnston, who led the NFL in punting yards back in 2021 as a member of the Texans, enjoyed a successful summer/preseason with Pittsburgh and averaged 51.5 yards on his two punts Sunday.