Tag: Corliss Waitman

Former Steelers All-Pro RB calls out fans over Mike Tomlin criticism

Former RB Le’Veon Bell defends Mike Tomlin amid rising calls for the Steelers’ head coach to be fired following the team’s Week 12 loss.

In what has resulted in a terrible Pittsburgh Steelers blame game, the team’s Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns has taken a toll on players and fans alike.

While much discussion over who is more directly responsible for the 24-19 loss to Cleveland has resulted in several prominent names being thrown under the bus, such as HC Mike Tomlin, OC Arthur Smith, QB Russell Wilson, and P Corliss Waitman, former Steelers All-Pro RB Le’Veon Bell is sick of hearing it.

This blame game has recently turned into a Tomlin witch hunt, with fans calling for the head coach to be fired. Bell, who spent the majority of his career under Tomlin’s leadership, recently made it clear on social media that any fans calling for the coach’s firing are “not real Steelers fans.”

Out of everything Bell touched on, the truest statement he made is that everyone is clearly overreacting to the Steelers’ Week 12 loss. Within a few weeks, fans will forget this stinging defeat, and the 8-3 Pittsburgh Steelers can prove why the 2024 season will finally lead to a deep playoff run.

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Steelers fans react to heartbreaking Week 12 loss

Fans of the Black and Gold offer mixed reactions and play the blame game on social media in response to the Steelers’ Week 12 loss.

What a difference four days make!  Following the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ Week 11 victory over the Baltimore Ravens this past Sunday, fans believed the team was in the midst of something special in 2024. However, after the team’s Week 12 loss to the Cleveland Browns just four days later on Thursday Night Football, a mix of emotions has swept over the Steel City.

There is plenty of blame to go around, from HC Mike Tomlin’s fourth-quarter calls, to poor officiating, to Corliss Waitman’s botched punt, and even mother nature for the cruel and frigid weather conditions of the Week 12 contest.

While Pittsburgh remains atop the AFC North, the Week 12 loss reopened the door for the Baltimore Ravens in the divisional race, as they are now only half a game behind Pittsburgh.

Fans are understandably upset with the Steelers seemingly taking several steps back on both offense and defense, but overall, mixed reactions remain constant. Here are some of the most passionate reactions on social media regarding the Steelers’ Week 12 loss.

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Steelers P Corliss Waitman’s rare misstep costs team in loss to Browns

Pittsburgh Steelers punter Corliss Waitman stumbles in snowy game vs. Browns, botched punt sets up Cleveland’s game-winning touchdown drive.

It’s been a strong season for Steelers punter Corliss Waitman, but that wasn’t the case in the snowy battle with the Cleveland Browns. He had one job, on one punt — his biggest moment of the season and whiffed.

Late in the second quarter, with Pittsburgh pinned deep in their territory, Waitman shanked a punt for 15 yards, giving Cleveland prime field position at the 45-yard line. The Browns capitalized, driving for the game-winning touchdown after the Steelers had taken a 19-18 thrilling lead in the third quarter.

Waitman has otherwise been one of the Steelers’ most consistent weapons this year, routinely flipping the field with booming punts and precise placement. The veteran, who played two games for Pittsburgh in 2021, was brought back after Cameron Johnston suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1.

The Steelers fall to 8-3 with their first — and hopefully last — AFC North loss of the season.

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Why the Broncos worked out a left-footed player this week

The Broncos worked out left-footed punter Michael Palardy on Wednesday before facing Pittsburgh’s Corliss Waitman on Sunday.

The Denver Broncos brought in a punter for a tryout on Wednesday, but Riley Dixon‘s job is not in jeopardy.

The Broncos hosted Michael Palardy, according to the NFL’s transaction wire (via KUSA-TV’s Mike Klis). Palardy, 32, is left-footed, and that’s no coincidence.

After losing Cameron Johnston to a season-ending injury, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed former Denver punter Corliss Waitman, who is now set to play against the Broncos on Sunday.

Waitman is left-footed and, believe it or not, catching a punt from a lefty has a different spin than catching a punt from a right-footed punter. Dixon, Denver’s current punter, is right-footed, so he can’t simulate the kind of punts Waitman will deliver on Sunday afternoon.

So, presumably to give Marvin Mims and Tremon Smith practice reps fielding a left-footed punt, the Broncos gave Palardy a tryout on Wednesday. Assuming it went well, Palardy could also be considered as a fallback option down the road if Dixon is ever unavailable.

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Russell Wilson is one of two ex-Broncos who now play for Steelers

Russell Wilson and Corliss Waitman return to Denver this week with the Steelers, but Wilson’s game status is uncertain.

The Denver Broncos faced three of their former players when they went on the road to take on the Seattle Seahawks in Week 1.

This week, Denver will face two more ex-Broncos, mostly notably including quarterback Russell Wilson (although his game status is still uncertain).

The other former Denver player now in Pittsburgh is punter Corliss Waitman, who joined the Steelers earlier this week after they lost Cameron Johnston to a season-ending knee injury.

Waitman, 29, handled punting duties for the Broncos in 2022. He has spent time with six NFL teams and this marks his third stint with the Steelers.

Wilson, 35, played in Denver from 2022-2023. The Broncos went 11-19 with Wison as a starter. Wilson was sacked 100 times, threw 19 interceptions and fumbled six times in 30 games with Denver before being released this spring.

Wilson sat out Pittsburgh’s season opener against the Atlanta Falcons with a calf injury. Justin Fields started in last week’s 18-10 win and Fields will start against the Broncos if Wilson is not cleared to play ahead of Week 2.

Denver’s game against the Steelers will be regionally televised on CBS. The Broncos are considered a betting underdog despite playing at home.

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Steelers bring back familiar face at punter

The Steelers tried out several free-agent punters before settling on Corliss Waitman.

With the news that Pittsburgh Steelers punter Cameron Johnston would be out for the year with a knee injury he suffered in Week One, the Steelers sprang into action looking for his replacement.

The Steelers brought in eight free-agent punters for workouts on Monday in hopes of finding Johnston’s replacement. The team ended up bringing back a familiar face to handle punting duties going forward.

No, the team did not re-sign Pressley Harvin III. In fact, Harvin didn’t even get a tryout. The team did sign Corliss Waitman, who was on the Steelers roster in 2020 and 2021. Waitman was most recently with the Chicago Bears.

Waitman has seven career punts with the Steelers but was the starter in Denver in 2022. He has a career average of 41.5 yards per punt on 103 career kicks.

The Steelers are now preparing to travel to Denver to take on those same Broncos that Waitman punted for two seasons ago.

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Steelers signing ex-Broncos punter ahead of Week 2

The Steelers are signing former Broncos punter Corliss Waitman ahead of their Week 2 showdown.

Russell Wilson won’t be the only ex-Bronco returning to Denver this week.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are set to sign former Broncos punter Corliss Waitman, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. Pittsburgh needed to bring in a replacement punter after losing Cameron Johnston to a season-ending knee injury on Sunday.

Waitman, 29, punted in Denver in 2022, averaging 46.6 yards per punt with a net average of 41.4 yards per boot. His long with the Broncos was 59 yards.

This will mark Waitman’s third stint with the Steelers. He originally joined the team as an undrafted free agent out of South Alabama in 2020. After serving on their practice squad as a rookie, Waitman was waived in the spring of 2021 and joined the Las Vegas Raiders.

After the Raiders cut Waitman that summer, he had a brief stint on the practice squad of the New England Patriots before returning to Pittsburgh. He punted for two games for the Steelers at the end of the 2021 campaign.

After one season in Denver, Waitman returned to the Patriots practice squad for a little more than a month in 2023. He went to training camp with the Chicago Bears this summer but did not make their active roster.

Waitman now gets a third opportunity with the Steelers and he’s poised to handle punting duties when the Broncos host Pittsburgh on Sunday.

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Saints work out two punters despite Matthew Hayball winning initial position battle

Saints work out two punters in lieu of Matthew Hayball winning the initial position battle

The New Orleans Saints have had a significant burst of workouts Monday evening, including both receivers and punters. As for the punting side of things, they worked out Trenton Gill and Corliss Waitman, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. These workouts come only days after undrafted rookie Matthew Hayball won the initial starting position battle at punter over incumbent from 2023 Lou Hedley.

Neither player has had an exceptional start to their NFL career, however, both have starting experience at one point or another. Gill moved to the NFL in the 2022 NFL draft after spending four seasons at North Carolina State, where he would receive First-team All-ACC honors in 2021 and Third-team All-ACC honors in 2019. After being drafted in the seventh round at pick 255 by the Chicago Bears, he would end up as the starter in both 2022 and 2023. He accrued 133 punts there for 5,163 yards (46.1 average) and 38 inside the 20-yard line (28.6%). It is worth noting that his career long was a 76 yarder, which may be why the Saints took a look into him.

Waitman has had a much different football career, going undrafted in 2020 and being picked up by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he would reside on their practice squad before being waived. He would then bounce around from the Las Vegas Raiders to the New England Patriots before coming back to Pittsburgh to get two games worth of opportunity, where he would punt 7 times for 365 yards (52.1 average) with only 1 inside the 20. In 2022 he ended up with the Denver Broncos where he would start the whole season, putting up 96 punts (most in the NFL that season) for 4,470 yards (46.6 average) and 30 inside the 20-yard line (31.3%). His career long is a 63 yarder, however he has not played in a regular season game since that season, as he would go to the practice squad of the New England Patriots for 2023 and Chicago Bears for 2024.

Ultimately, both may just be in consideration for pickups down the road pending the performance of Hayball. Or, maybe they want to retain one on the practice squad just in case of injury. We will see in the coming days if they want to make another addition at the position or if this was just for research. But at this time, neither has been signed, also per Nick Underhill.

2 players recently cut by Broncos work out for Saints

After being cut by the Broncos last week, WR Phillip Dorsett and P Trenton Gill worked out for the Saints on Monday.

One week after being cut by the Denver Broncos, two players worked out for the New Orleans Saints on Monday.

Former Broncos wide receiver Phillip Dorsett and ex-Denver punter Trenton Gill were among a group of players who visited the Saints, according to KPRC-TV’s Aaron Wilson.

Dorsett, 31, signed with the Broncos’ practice squad after the team set their 53-man roster last summer. Dorsett was elevated to the game-day roster twice in 2023 but did not record any receptions.

Gill, 25, competed with Riley Dixon for Denver’s punter job this summer. Gill showed off his powerful leg during preseason, but coach Sean Payton said the competition wasn’t close as Dixon retained the job.

New Orleans also worked out punter Corliss Waitman. who handled punting duties for the Broncos in 2022.

Denver made 38 roster moves last week to get down to a 53-man roster. So far, nine players cut by the Broncos have landed with NFL teams.

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Giants work out several punters, one long snapper

The New York Giants worked out three punters and one long snapper, who is a familiar face, on Wednesday in East Rutherford.

The New York Giants reportedly worked out four players on Wednesday in hopes of fortifying their injury-riddled roster.

Cam Lyons is a long snapper who spent all summer with the Giants but was released during the team’s final cuts before the regular season.

Pat O’Donnell, Michael Palardy and Corliss Waitman are all punters with NFL experience the Giants brought in just in case Jamie Gillan (groin) can’t go this week against the Philadelphia Eagles.

None of the four were immediately signed by multiple transactions are expected in the coming day.

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