Just hours before the NFL roster deadline, Pittsburgh Steelers fans were informed that Corliss Waitman had won the punter battle and that veteran Cameron Johnston had been released. The competition was extremely close throughout the summer, but most expected Johnson—the punter with the bigger, multi-year contract—to get the nod.
Waitman filled in for Johnson during the 2024 season and was excellent. The lesser-known punter, with just two years of starting experience since 2021, won the job fair and square this summer.
But Omar Khan and the front office just blew a major opportunity.
On Tuesday morning, ESPN insider Adam Schefter reported that the Steelers had received calls regarding Waitman and his availability. The New Orleans Saints were one of the teams that inquired about trading for the punter, but the Steelers made the final decision to stick with him.
Did you catch what just happened there?
The Pittsburgh Steelers should have traded Corliss Waitman and added another 2026 draft pick to their arsenal
Corliss Waitman was apparently the punter the Saints wanted. The Pittsburgh Steelers just had the perfect opportunity unfold, and they let it slip away. How often do you get to trade away a second punter for draft capital? The last time they did so was exactly a decade ago when they traded Brad Wing to the New York Giants.
All summer, we were hoping that Khan would receive calls about a punter trade... and they did. The Steelers could have traded Waitman and kept Cameron Johnston while adding another Day 3 draft pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. We knew the punter battle was going to be close.
Is the difference between Waitman and Johnston worth losing a gifted pick over? Certainly not.
We have no guarantees that the Steelers even made the right decisions. Johnston will likely sign with another team and could prove that he's the better player. After all, he's the punter who earned the big contract during the 2024 offseason after showing off his massive leg with the Houston Texans. Johnston has led the NFL in punting in the past, and in 2023, he pulled off a long punt of 74 yards.
I'm not saying the Steelers made a mistake keeping Corliss Waitman over Cameron Johnston, but there's no doubt in my mind they should have kept the 'loser' of the punting battle if it netted them an extra draft pick next year. This would probably have only been a seventh-round selection or a late Day 3 pick swap.
However, with the punter battle as close as it was between Waitman and Johnston, it's baffling that the Pittsburgh Steelers passed up an opportunity to add draft capital by trading one of them away before the NFL roster deadline.