It is rare in the NFL that a position battle at punter is a noteworthy topic, but that was the case this summer for the Pittsburgh Steelers. After years of terrible punting success, the Steelers signed veteran Cameron Johnston last offseason to a sizable deal. He unfortunately made it just one game into the 2024 season before going down with a knee injury, making way for Corliss Waitman.
Waitman had a strong season, making things tricky for Pittsburgh's coaching staff in training camp. With Johnston fully healed, a true competition began. Waitman ultimately won out despite Johnston's three-year, $9 million contract.
Now that teams have gotten a real look at their punting situation following Week 1, an AFC contender just scooped up the former Steelers punter to help bolster their special teams. According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Buffalo Bills are bringing Johnston on board as they chase a Super Bowl in 2025.
The Bills played what could already be the game of the year against the Baltimore Ravens, and their punter, Brad Robbins, struggled mightily. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, the signing of Johnston is a reminder that every position on a roster is important.
Steelers former punter Cameron Johnston could be a major addition for the Buffalo Bills
Special teams can often be overlooked when analyzing NFL rosters, as they tend to be less impactful on the result of games than the offense or defense. Still, you don't want to be a team that struggles mightily at any one aspect of special teams play.
Just look at how the Steelers got back in the game in their victory over the Jets. Things were looking bleak before the offense marched down the field to make it a 24-26 game early in the fourth quarter, but they had to get another stop against an offense that had run all over them up to that point. On the ensuing kick return, Jets returner Xavier Gipson fumbled on a great play by Kenneth Gainwell.
That ended up being a huge difference in the game, as the Steelers scored just two plays later to make it a 31-26 ball game. They of course won the game 34-32 thanks to another special teams highlight, courtesy of Chris Boswell.
The Bills may have won their opener against the Ravens, but their punting certainly didn't help. Robbins punted four times with an average net of just 39.5 yards, including a 28-yard shank in the fourth quarter.
Signing Johnston so quickly after just one bad game from Robbins shows that there is no room for failure on a team like Buffalo, where the expectations couldn't be higher. The Steelers could learn from that attitude with how badly a few of their starters struggled in Week 1. Pittsburgh will get to face Johnston later this season, and hopefully, by then, it looks like they chose the right guy for the job.