Punter Cameron Johnston will have a second stint with the Steelers.
Johnston, who previously played for the Steelers in 2024, signed a one-year contract with the team today.
The last time Johnston was a Steeler, it didn’t go well: He signed a three-year contract in 2024 but suffered a season-ending injury in Week One. The Steelers cut him in 2025 and he ended up playing three games for the Bills and one for the Giants last season.
An Australian who moved to the United States to punt at Ohio State, Johnston originally entered the NFL as an undrafted rookie with the Eagles in 2017. He spent four years with the Eagles and three with the Texans before signing with the Steelers the first time.
Plenty of veteran quarterbacks are and will be available. The Steelers are sitting at the window, waiting for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to come home.
But as they press a collective nose against the glass, they’re also reportedly “nosing around” the quarterback market.
Mike Garafolo used that term during a Monday appearance on NFL Network in explaining that the Steelers know they need to have a “contingency plan” in place, if Rodgers decides to play for someone else — or to not play at all.
Either way, the clock is ticking. And potential options will be disappearing.
Kirk Cousins. Geno Smith. Joe Flacco. Just to name a few. Will any of them wait to see what Rodgers will do?
The Steelers shouldn’t be waiting. All due respect to the future first-ballot Hall of Famer, but Rodgers is a long way from the guy who won four MVP awards.
Really, who else is pursuing him? Last year, Rodgers was the Plan B if Matthew Stafford left the Rams. That’s it.
This year, the Cardinals make sense, but for the fact that they can just go ahead and renovate the basement of the NFC West.
When word broke on Monday that the Colts and Steelers agreed on a trade that will send wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. to Pittsburgh, there were not any details of the draft pick swap that would be part of the deal.
Tuesday brought more about which picks are involved in the trade. Albert Breer of SI.com reports that the Steelers will be sending a sixth-round pick to Indianapolis for Pittman and a seventh-round selection. The trade cannot become official until the new league year is underway on Wednesday.
Pittman has also agreed to a new three-year deal with the Steelers worth $59 million.
The Colts also agreed to a new deal with wideout Alec Pierce on Monday and will move forward with him, Josh Downs, Ashton Dulin, and Anthony Gould at wide receiver.
The Steelers are re-signing defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo to a one-year deal, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.
Otomewo, 27, signed a one-year deal with the Steelers last March.
He totaled nine tackles and one sack in 12 games, seeing action on 173 defensive snaps and 24 on special teams.
Otomewo entered the league as a fifth-round pick of the Vikings in 2022.
He played one season in Minnesota before heading to Jacksonville.
In his career, Otomewo has recorded 18 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 21 games. He has made two starts.
Three pumps for three rivers. (We know, we know. It was only two.)
Panthers running back Rico Dowdle, who signed a one-year deal in Carolina a year ago, has agreed to terms with the Steelers, per Jordan Schultz.
Terms have not yet been reported.
Earlier today, Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell, the team’s MVP in 2025, agreed on a two-year, $14 million contract with the Buccaneers.
In 2025, Dowdle had 1,076 rushing yards and 297 receiving yards in 17 regular-season games. In Week 5 and Week 6, he had back-to-back games with more than 200 yards from scrimmage.
Dowdle signed a one-year, $2.75 million contract with the Panthers a year ago, after spending his first four seasons with the Cowboys. During his final year in Dallas, Dowdle had 1,079 rushing yards.
