Bills forced into an emergency situation after unfortunate injury news breaks just hours after Week 4 win vs. Saints
Not the news the Buffalo Bills were hoping for.
Despite the victory over the New Orleans Saints in Week 4, the team got some bad injury news shortly after.
During the contest, punter Cameron Johnston took a rough hit during a play and was in clear pain, which resulted in a personal foul penalty for the New Orleans Saints. While Johnston was able to put on a knee brace and hold for some extra points, his injury will sideline him for a few weeks.
Ian Rapoport broke the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Buffalo will be expected to bring in a new punter soon with Johnston’s injury. Johnston suffered a lower-leg injury, and the timeline for his return is undetermined. Additionally, it’s unclear as of Monday whether the team would be placing Johnston on injured reserve, which would sideline him for at least the next four games.
It’s been a carousel for the punting unit through the early stages of the 2025 season. Johnston was brought on in place of Brad Robbins just days after the team’s thrilling Week 1 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
Johnston and Robbins were nearly identical in 2025 stats
Johnston has had room to improve, as through three games his net average was just 37.9 yards per punt, which is 26th in the NFL. In fact, through just three weeks, his net average was 0.1 yards lower than that of Robbins.
According to Spotrac, when looking at the 2025 season and who is available, Pat O’Donnell, Michael Palardy, and Jack Browning are the only ones mentioned. While it’s slim pickings, the Bills do have some wiggle room.
The team could also do some maneuvering with their practice squad by placing Johnston on the injured reserve and signing a punter to the practice squad, calling him up for gamedays. Teams are eligible to call up a player three times from the practice squad before having to sign them to their active roster.
For now, Buffalo is on the hunt for a new punter, and not a lot of time to do so with a showdown in Week 5 against the New England Patriots set for Sunday, Oct. 5.
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