This past Sunday’s game is not the first time unheralded Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Rodney Williams played the hero. In his first career game, he made a key tackle following a fumble on special teams that saved a touchdown—and then very nearly scored one himself later on a blocked punt.
That pales in comparison to the critical save that he made against the Green Bay Packers, which may be special teams coordinator Danny Smith’s new favorite play. After Smith was bowled over on the sideline, tearing his rotator cuff and unable to move, it was Williams who noticed his coach’s peril and ran over to drag him out of the growing scuffle between the two teams.
“I just saw him on the ground, and he couldn’t get up and I saw everybody coming over”, he told reporters this week. ” I just picked him up, tried to carry him out, make sure he was all good”. He also noted that he was still chewing his gum.
While it didn’t spare Smith from significant injury, revealing that he will have to have surgery in the offseason, he sure did appreciate it. “I couldn’t get up. When I landed on my shoulder, it went numb”, he said of his injury, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s YouTube channel. “I couldn’t get off the ground. I got trampled on a couple of times. But I couldn’t get off the ground, that was the problem, so I rolled over on my back, and when I rolled over on my back, he slid me out”.
On Williams, he said, “He’s done a good job. Not only that, I may have a hard time sitting him down. I need him with me”.
A member of the practice squad going back to last season, Williams made the jump to the 53-man roster via promotion after TE Pat Freiermuth injured his hamstring. He has since played over half of the Steelers’ special teams snaps over the past five weeks and has intermittently played a role on offense as well when the game plan calls for it.
With Freiermuth on his way back, it doesn’t seem likely that Williams will find himself the odd man out, however. Always on the cusp, he has created a niche for himself as a special teamer with the capability of contributing on offense as a depth piece as well.
Being on the 53-man roster and dressing are two different stories, however, and Williams would have to ensure that he becomes entrenched as a special teams contributor. He has played well in that phase, but has he become an integral part of the unit to the point where you would feel compelled to dress him?
Saving your coordinator’s bacon may go a long way with him, but Smith doesn’t have the final say about who dresses. He can let head coach Mike Tomlin know who he needs on his unit, but Tomlin ultimately decides which players he needs. And a fourth tight end is tough to swing on game day, though not impossible.
