The Pittsburgh Steelers have inked a three-year deal with punter Cameron Johnston. Johnston, entering his seventh NFL season, spent the past three years with the Houston Texans after joining the league as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles following the 2017 NFL Draft.
Throughout his career spanning 95 games, Johnston has punted 445 times for 21,029 yards, boasting a gross average of 47.3 yards and a net average of 42.4 yards. He has impressively landed 182 punts inside the 20-yard line and has consistently delivered punts of at least 60 yards in each of his first six seasons.
In the 2023 season, Johnston appeared in 13 games, punting 66 times for 3,145 yards with a gross average of 47.7 yards. Notably, he downed 30 punts inside the 20-yard line, representing a remarkable 45 percent. His highlight was a 74-yard punt in Week 8 against the Carolina Panthers, setting a career-long record and the longest in Texans history. Johnston also showcased his skills in the Texans’ postseason games, averaging 46 yards in the AFC Wild Card win over the Browns and 43.4 yards in the Divisional Round loss to the Ravens.
In 2022, Johnston led the AFC and tied for second in the NFL with 37 punts inside the 20-yard line, matching his career-high from 2021. His 42.05 percent of punts landing inside the 20-yard line ranked first in the AFC and fourth in the NFL, marking the fourth-highest single-season mark in Texans’ history. Additionally, his 42.6-yard net average ranked second in the AFC, while his 48.1-yard gross average ranked third in the AFC.
During his time with the Eagles, Johnston made significant contributions, finishing fourth in the NFL in punting yards (3,318) and net punting yards (2,924) in 2020, and tying for sixth in punts inside the 20-yard line (26). He also set single-season Eagles records in gross punting average (48.1) and net punting average (42.7) in 2018.
Johnston’s football journey began at Ohio State, where he earned accolades such as the Big Ten Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year and a second-team All-America selection in his senior year. He also honed his skills at Prokick Australia, a Melbourne-based punter/kicker training ground, and had a stint as an Australian Rules football player for the Melbourne Football Club during his time at St. Joseph’s College in Newtown, Australia.
