The Pittsburgh Steelers re-sign veteran punter Cameron Johnston for another shot and also bring back defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo.
Cameron Johnston has punted in 100 games for five teams in his eight-year NFL career. One of those games was with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are banking on Johnson staying a little longer this time.
On Tuesday, Johnston signed a one-year contract with the Steelers. Last season, he punted for the Buffalo Bills and New York Giants.
Previously, Pittsburgh signed Johnston to a three-year, $9 million deal before the 2024 season. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in the opener. He returned for training camp last summer, but Corliss Waitman secured the punter’s job instead.
Now, the 34-year-old Johnston will replace Waitman, who becomes a free agent on Wednesday.
Looking at recent performance, Johnston, a native of Australia, averaged 44.5 yards on his 11 punts last season, including a net average of 32.4 yards. For comparison, Waitman had averages of 45.5 and 41.7 yards on 62 punts.
Despite last season's numbers, Johnston has a 47.2-yard career average and a 42.0-yard net, with just one of 458 punts blocked while playing for the Philadelphia Eagles (2018-20), Texans (2021-23), Steelers, Bills, and Giants.
Johnston played collegiately for four seasons at Ohio State, where he was named Big Ten Punter of the Year and was a second-team All-America selection his senior year. He also attended St. Joseph's College in Newtown, Australia, and took part in the Melbourne-based punter/kicker training ground Prokick Australia. Johnston also played Australian Rules football for the Melbourne Football Club.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh also re-signed defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo to a one-year contract. In his first season with the Steelers last year, Otomewo played in a career-high 12 games as a reserve and had his first career sack. The 27-year-old has also played for the Minnesota Vikings (2022) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2024).
Otomewo will primarily serve as defensive tackle Cameron Heyward’s backup. Notably, Heyward, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, agreed to terms on a two-year, $32.25-million contract extension on Tuesday night.
The Steelers went 10-8 last season and won their first AFC North title since 2020. However, coach Mike Tomlin resigned on Jan. 13 after 19 seasons and one day after the Steelers lost 30-6 to the Texans in a Wild Card playoff game. Mike McCarthy replaced Tomlin on Jan. 27.
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