One of the best punters in the league isn’t changing addresses. Cameron Johnston is staying in Philadelphia in 2020.
Johnston, a former Australian rules football player, was scheduled to become an exclusive rights free agent next week. Instead, the Eagles tendered Johnson and ensured he won’t be leaving for another team. As an exclusive rights free agent, Johnston had an expiring contract after accruing three seasons of NFL experience.
Not anymore. The one-year deal is worth an estimated $660,000 and rewards the third member of one of the league’s better special-teams units.
The Eagles inked veteran kicker Jake Elliott and Pro Bowl long-snapper Rick Lovato to contract extensions during the 2019 season. Johnston serves as the holder on extra point and field goal attempts while handling the punting duties. He ranks third in the NFL in gross punting average (47.2) and fifth in net average (42.5) since 2018. In addition, he set the Eagles’ single-season franchise records that same year in both categories.
Roster Move: The #Eagles have tendered exclusive rights free agent P Cameron Johnston.
Perhaps Johnston’s biggest claim to fame was booting the ball 81 yards (sadly, the net was only 76) in a 2018 preseason game. Remember, Johnston wasn’t on the Super Bowl champion team and took the job the following year after Donnie Jones retired. Johnston has certainly come into his own.
Pat McAfee’s commentary on this BOOT 😂 (via @PatMcAfeeShow) t.co/JJjpfgzSih
Eagles Trying to Fill Void Left by Chris Maragos
When Chris Maragos announced his retirement last summer, there was a natural outpouring of love for one of the best special-teams players in Eagles history. Heck, one of the best special-teams players in NFL history. He just had a knack for inspiring others and being in the right place at the right time.
It’s tough to gauge how good of a job teams do on special teams by looking at stats alone. You can look at the net yardage for punters and the return yards allowed but it doesn’t always tell the whole story. Perusing those things, the Eagles were middle of the road. Philadelphia allowed 643 yards on kickoff returns (15th-best in the NFL) and 207 yards on punt returns (18th-best).
In terms of pure volume, their leading special-teams player was Nathan Gerry who saw 335 of the special-team snaps (74.2-percent). Gerry was followed closely by linebacker T.J. Edwards (334) and cornerback Rasul Douglas (261) and linebacker Duke Riley (254).
Eagles special-teams coordinator Dave Fipp is highly regarded as one of the best coaches at the position but there has been a noticeable fall-off without Maragos on the roster. Maybe they’ll draft a few hustle guys in the middle rounds of the draft.
Eagles Close Down Facilities for Coronavirus Threat
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie announced on Thursday that he was shutting down both the NovaCare Complex and Lincoln Financial Field and encouraged employees to work from home amid concerns over the COVD-19 pandemic. The coronavirus has been dominating the headlines and American lives for nearly three days and the future is uncertain.
The Eagles also pulled their travel scouts off the road and canceled all pre-draft visits with prospective draft picks until further notice. For now, the NFL Draft remains on and scheduled for April 23 in Las Vegas.
“The health and safety of our community, players, employees and fans will remain paramount as we continue to make decisions over the coming days and weeks,” Lurie said.
“The health and safety of our community, players, employees and fans will remain paramount as we continue to make decisions over the coming days and weeks.” – Eagles Chairman/CEO Jeffrey Lurie
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Eagles Commit to Big-Time Special Teams Player