Philadelphia Eagles: Cameron Johnston is saving puppies at the PSPCA

Punts aren’t the worst thing for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020.

There’s an old adage in sports that if you’re talking about a punter it’s probably because he did something bad.

This, my friends, is one of those rare exceptions.

Since joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, Cameron Johnston has deceptively established himself as one of the better young punters in the NFL – averaging 47.5 yards per punt over his first 34 games.

Johnston has also recorded four combined tackles, if you’re into that sort of thing.

But in 2020, Johnston’s biggest contribution to the City of Brotherly Love may actually be off the field.

You see, after adopting a dog of his own earlier this summer, Johnston has partnered up with the Philadelphia SPCA for a charitable promotion called ‘Punts for Puppies‘. Over the course of the 2020 season, whenever Johnston is able to down a punt inside the 20, the 27-year-old Ohio State graduate will cover the adoption fee of a dog in need.

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And through the first two games of the season, it’s already paying off in the best possible way.

In Week 1, Johnston hit the mark three times, and as a result, three pups, Solo, Nyla, and Clyde, had their fees covered and their path to a ‘forever home’ fast-tracked. Week 2? Well, Johnston would have had one more downed punt inside the 20 had it not been for T.J. Edwards’ forced fumble on Cooper Kupp, but honestly, I think the puppies will forgive that one.

Now, contextually speaking, predicting where a punt will land is a near impossibility, as oh so many factors can affect a ball’s trajectory through the air, but let’s just say when you have a punter like Johnston who is averaging a league-high 55.6 yards-per-punt, the real winners are the puppies.

So this season, whenever the Philadelphia Eagles frustratingly finish off a fruitless drive with a failed third-down conversion, don’t get too discouraged, as Cameron Jonhston has an opportunity to not only secure his team good field position but also help a rescue puppy land a better life. In my book, that’s pretty cool.