Last week, Cameron Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast made waves with RB Jaylen Warren throwing out the possibility of QB Justin Fields being on the kick return unit. It became one of the big stories of the next few days with many analysts debating the possibility of something like that happening.
Heyward released his latest episode of Not Just Football on Thursday morning and addressed some of the Fields kick return talk at the top of the show.
“Let’s provide some context now. When he said that he threw all of us for a loop, but I took it more as a joke. It’s a fun podcast. We were at the draft party, and I thought he was just trying to get a rise out of everybody,” Heyward said. “Everybody thinks Justin Fields is gonna be our kick returner. Let’s not forget that we just did sign Cordarrelle Patterson, who has the most touchdowns as a kickoff returner, so why put Justin Fields back there? Let’s slow the roll. It was good fun. It was good content. But I don’t think we’re gonna be doing that anytime soon.”
The way that Warren made the comment, it didn’t sound to me that he just made it up out of thin air. But obviously special teams coordinator Danny Smith may have just made a passing comment in jest, one that wasn’t meant to ever see the light of day in the media space.
It never seemed likely that Fields was going to be on the kick-return unit. Even with the new rules, there is too much risk of injury, and he is the primary backup quarterback entering the season. Russell Wilson will be 36 years old in November, so Fields is just one play away from being the team’s starter.
The Steelers started three different quarterbacks in 2023, so they know all too well that you can’t take the health of the starting QB for granted, and especially so with Wilson’s age.
They do still need a second kick-return option because the new kick-return setup allows for two and teams will likely kick away from Patterson, but there are other options on the roster that aren’t the backup QB.
Heyward was asked if Danny Smith might have been angered by these comments seeing the light of day.
“Danny’s got my number, but Danny ain’t wasting that call, ’cause you know I’m gonna say, ‘Ain’t nobody putting his ass back there,'” Heyward said. “Danny’s got all that bubble gum and he is not worried about Justin Fields being on the field. He’s gonna chew his bubble gum and tell Cordarrelle Patterson to go score.”
Who might the other kick-return option be? It is hard to say right now. The NFL is going to be figuring out as a collective the best archetype of player to thrive in the new format. The coverage and return units are closer together and nobody can move until the ball is fielded. It is going to be tighter quarters, so there has been some speculation that bigger bodies more than pure speed will thrive. Perhaps Connor Heyward could be an option as he returned 33 kicks at Michigan State.
If it is speed they are looking for, the Steelers have gone on a signing spree this offseason adding fast wide receivers like Quez Watkins and Scotty Miller, and they also have Calvin Austin III on the roster.
