Corliss Leendert Waitman is a Belgian-born

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

punter for the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He played college football at

South Alabama South Alabama is the various parts of southern Alabama. Although it is not a strictly defined geographic region, it generally includes all Alabama counties south of the Black Belt. In that view, ''South Alabama'' consists of just the two counties ...

Early life

Waitman's mother's family is from

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

. His father, José Waitman, was a professional basketball player, and was playing in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

when Corliss was born. The family moved to the Netherlands, where Corliss spent his childhood. When he was 15, he moved to the United States to join his father. Waitman switched from playing soccer to football in high school.

College career

Waitman played college football at

from 2014–2018. In February 2019, he transferred to

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

. However, the NCAA denied Waitman an extra year of eligibility, and he did not play college football in 2019.

Professional career

Pittsburgh Steelers

Waitman was signed by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2020. He was waived on September 5, 2020 and re-signed to the practice squad. He signed a reserve/future contract on January 14, 2021. He was waived on May 3, 2021.

Las Vegas Raiders

On July 26, 2021, Waitman was signed by the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West divi ...

. He was waived on August 23, 2021.

New England Patriots

On November 23, 2021, Waitman was signed to the

practice squad.

Pittsburgh Steelers (second stint)

Waitman was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers off the Patriots practice squad on December 25, 2021, when Steelers punter

Pressley Harvin III Pressley Harvin III (born September 17, 1998) is an American football punter for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he received unanimous All-American honors and ...

took bereavement leave. He made his NFL debut in the team's week 16 loss against the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The t ...

the following day. He was waived on January 15, 2022.

Denver Broncos

On January 17, 2022, Waitman was claimed off waivers by the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. Waitman was also drafted by the

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

in the third round (20th overall) of the

2022 CFL Global Draft The 2022 CFL Global Draft was a selection of non-Canadian and non-American players by Canadian Football League (CFL) teams that took place on May 3, 2022. It was the second CFL Draft that pools all of the global players together after previously h ...

. Waitman was named the starting punter for the Broncos on August 29, 2022, after veteran punter Sam Martin was released. In Week 3, Waitman punted 10 times, six of them inside the 20-yard line, in an 11-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

New England Patriots (second stint)

On March 23, 2023, Waitman signed a contract with the

, following the Patriots releasing

Jake Bailey Jake Bailey may refer to: * Jake Bailey (make-up artist) (1978–2015), American make-up artist and photographer * Jake Bailey (American football) Jacob Bailey (born June 18, 1997) is an American football punter for the New England Patriots of ...

References

External links

Denver Broncos bioSouth Alabama Jaguars bio
1995 births Living people American football punters South Alabama Jaguars football players Sportspeople of Surinamese descent Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Florida Las Vegas Raiders players New England Patriots players People from Milton, Florida Denver Broncos players Belgian people of Surinamese descent Belgian players of American football {{Amfoot-punter-stub