Cameron

Johnston

Johnston was carted off the field Sunday against the Falcons. An ACL tear was confirmed on Monday and he will miss the remainder of the season. It’s a blow for the Steelers special teams, as Johnston held for K Chris Boswell.

Johnston has spent the last three seasons with the Texans and has averaged 42.2 net yards per punt for his career. Touted by NBC’s Kyle Dvorchak as a crusher of punts, Johnston led the league in punts and punting yards in 2021, and was graded as the 23rd best punter in 2023 per PFF.

The Texans will need to add a punter ahead of Week 1’s matchup against the Ravens, as Johnston is now required to miss a minimum of four games. Johnston signed a three-year deal with the Texans in 2021, despite ranking near the bottom of the league in net yards per punt. We’d expect the Texans to add another punter in the very near future.

The Texans continue to pile on special teams players in free agency, for reasons unknown. Johnston is coming off a 2020 season in which he posted a career-low 41.2 net-yard average. Johnston’s deal with Houston includes a $1 million signing bonus and $3 million in guaranteed money. The Texans released punter Bryan Anger on Thursday.

It’s a salary cap maneuver, as 29-year-old Johnson is a perfectly pine punter, placing 14th in net punting average last season. The Eagles will assuredly go bargain basement at the position for 2021. Johnson will be near the head of the line for punter workouts/calls.

Johnston entered the league as an elderly 25-year-old in 2017. 2020 will be his third year handling Eagles’ punts. He was eighth in net punting average last season.

Johnston (5’11/194) led the Big Ten in punting average in 3-of-4 seasons and was named 2016 Big Ten Punter of the Year, finishing fifth in the nation with a 46.2-yard average. A former Aussie Rules player from Melbourne, Johnston’s rugby style of punting has historically had mixed results in the NFL. Still, Johnston was a good enough college punter and has a strong enough leg to warrant a long look.