Cameron Heyward hosted a live draft party last week with a bunch of Pittsburgh Steelers fans in attendance, and recently posted the video on his Not Just Football YouTube channel. He had on some current players as well as some of the newest members of the team in the early-round draft picks. One current player who made an appearance was RB Jaylen Warren, and he was asked if the new kickoff rules make him want to return kicks at all in 2024. He said he would, but he suggested a surprising name – QB Justin Fields.
“I mean, I would. I think it’s pretty cool. As soon as you touch the ball, that’s when everything starts to happen,” Warren said of the new kickoff rule. “But our special teams coordinator was talking about Justin Fields being back there. We looked at him like, Justin Fields gonna be back there? I don’t know, I think it’s cool.”
The Steelers signed kick return specialist Cordarrelle Patterson, one of the top kick returners in league history, shortly after the rule change was announced. But you need two people back there because teams might just kick away from Patterson to avoid his return prowess. There has been some conversation over who the Steelers will put opposite Patterson and Warren is suggesting a rather surprising name in Fields.
Obviously, I would characterize this as unlikely to happen, but it is fun to imagine. Fields is a weapon with his legs, and his 4.45-second speed and change of direction would make for a great watch on what is now going to be an exciting play in the NFL, rather than the time you get up to take a bathroom break. Just look at this Fields rushing touchdown posted by Erik Lambert on X.
He shakes multiple defenders, changes direction, follows his blocks, and makes it all the way to the end zone with the play starting at the 49-yard line.
Warren was later asked who the fastest player on the team is.
“It gotta be Justin or Calvin [Austin III]. Justin is fast,” Warren said. “He’s a do-it-all athlete.”
This could just be a passing comment that Smith made at the team facility, dreaming about having a player like Fields opposite Patterson. It seems unlikely the team would want to expose him to that type of injury risk on kick returns. That being said, the Steelers do seem likely to implement some exciting packages for him on offense that will show off this skill set. Even if Russell Wilson is the starter, the Steelers have every reason to see what they have in Fields with him going into the final year of his contract.
There actually is some precedent for a backup quarterback returning kicks as former Carolina Panthers QB Joe Webb did so in his career. He actually returned kicks in Super Bowl 50. But he wasn’t viewed as a potential future starter, so there is a clear difference between him and Fields.
