Steelers A to Z: Corliss Waitman performs well every time he’s asked to punt

Editor’s note: From now until reporting day to training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2025 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 12 and July 23. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

P CORLISS WAITMAN

Experience/age: 35 NFL games over three seasons since 2021, turns 30 on Monday

Contract status: $1.1 million cap hit if he makes the team in 2025, after which would be an unrestricted free agent

The past: Born in Belgium and raised in the Netherlands, Waitman moved to the U.S. — and took up American football — as a teen. His father, the late Jose Waitman, was a professional basketball player overseas. Both Waitman men went to the University of South Alabama, where the younger Waitman was first-team all-Sun Belt at punter in 2017. Waitman signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent in 2020, and during that season he spent time on their practice squad. In 2021, Waitman was on the practice squad of the New England Patriots when the Steelers signed him to punt in place of Pressley Harvin III after the death of Harvin’s father. Waitman performed well in his two-game stint — averaging 52.1 yards per punt — but Steelers coach Mike Tomlin went back to Harvin for the Steelers’ playoff game.

Waitman spent the entirety of the following season as the Denver Broncos’ punter, leading the NFL in punts with 96 while posting averages of 46.6 gross and 41.4 net yards. But the Broncos went another direction in 2023, and Waitman spent time with the New England Patriots without appearing in a game. He spent last spring, preseason and training camp with the Chicago Bears but did not win their punting job.

Punter Corliss Waitman didn't execute any leverage in submitting Steelers jersey No. 8 to Aaron Rodgers. He submitted it for free.https://t.co/RJHwBOBDWm

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) June 11, 2025

2025 outlook: The Steelers turned to Waitman a few days into last season after Cameron Johnston suffered a torn ACL in the opener. Johnston had been signed to a three-year, $9 million deal to finally solve the Steelers’ punting woes starting in 2024. It ended up that Waitman did. He was roughly league-average in net punting average (41.4 yards), touchback rate (7.7%) and inside the 20 rate (41.5%) while getting no punts blocked. Waitman also served as holder for Chris Boswell during what was Boswell’s best season to date (first-team AP NFL All Pro kicker).

But Johnston is back healthy, and if that remains to be the case it is difficult to envision Waitman beating him out for the job. That said, special teams coordinator Danny Smith left it open, saying only that, “it’s going to be interesting” when asked if the punter job was an open competition. “Corliss did a great job (in 2024),” Smith said. “I couldn’t ask for more out of him.” Can Waitman unseat a healthy Johnston? Even if he can’t, if he punts well enough during the preseason there could be another NFL job waiting for him by September.