When he made the comment on Cameron Heyward’s podcast “Not Just Football with Cameron Heyward”, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren had no idea that blurting out the idea of new quarterback Justin Fields potentially returning kickoffs would take off like wildfire.
It did just that in the hours and days after he made his comment as social media took the alleged idea from Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith and ran with it, causing quite a news cycle.
For Fields, it was a comment that was interpreted incorrectly. Speaking with the Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko, Fields stated that Smith was sending a message using him returning kicks as an example, making it clear to everyone on the roster that no matter who you are, you could be on special teams.
Not that Smith truly wanted Fields returning kickoffs while being the Steelers’ backup quarterback.
“Nah, I think everybody kind of interpreted it wrong,” Fields said Tuesday to Batko. “Coach Danny was basically just trying to send a message that no matter who you are, you could be on special teams. He just used that as an example.”
That may very well be the case in regard to Fields potentially returning kicks, but in the social media landscape it was viewed as the old-school Smith being a bit crazy and potentially putting Fields and his incredible athleticism and open-field abilities at risk.
So far in his NFL career, Fields has been incredible as a runner, especially in the open field. He’s rushed for 2,220 yards and 14 touchdowns across three seasons, including a 1,143-yard season in 2022.
Based on his open-field abilities as a runner, paired with his 4.45 speed and his ability to make defenders miss in space, it wasn’t all that crazy of a thought initially once Warren made the comments during the podcast appearance. Of course, putting a quarterback back to return kicks, on paper, is crazy, having a talent like Fields back there — especially if he is the backup to Russell Wilson — isn’t all that crazy.
The story took off though and was part of the news cycle for the better part of a week.
While that was all happening, nothing was ever said from Fields’ perspective. Until now.
Though many seemingly took it rather seriously and debated about it for days on end, Fields brushed it off and believes it was entirely misinterpreted.
The Steelers, to their credit, quickly signed arguably the best kick returner in NFL history and a potential Hall of Famer in Cordarrelle Patterson shortly after the NFL implemented the rules change on kickoffs, bringing the exciting play back into the fold, albeit at a safer level.
It was quite the storyline for a week or so, but Fields definitely put any conversation of it moving forward to an end with his comments to Batko. He won’t be back there returning kicks, period.
The message from Danny Smith though? Hopefully it resonated.
