The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for a lot of things. Being an excellent kick return team is not one of them. This is mostly due to the Steelers never having a consistent return man since Rod Woodson, outside of the two years Ray-Ray McCloud spent with the Steelers. Just as well, the NFL has slowly but surely worked to make returning kickoffs safer, with an unfortunate side effect that it made the play more boring. However, with major changes being made to kickoffs this offseason, it seems the kick return game is about to enter a renaissance. The Steelers got out in front of this change by signing legendary return man Cordarrelle Patterson, who seems excited at the prospect of these new rules.
Patterson came into the league as a wide receiver and has since transitioned more into a running back, but his true value lies on special teams. He actually holds the record for most kickoff return touchdowns, so while he may be entering the 12th year of his career, these new rules may inject some youth into his body. In a video from Aaron Becker of Yardbarker after the last day of OTAs, Patterson was asked about his feelings on the new kickoff rules.
“It’s gonna be new to everybody, so we just gotta figure it out, and just get a head start on everybody,” Patterson said via Becker’s Twitter account. “As soon as the rule happened, it was exciting for me. It’s going to be different, very different, but we’ve been planning it for a while, so hopefully we get a jump-start on it and be ready for it.”
Mike Tomlin himself said that the Steelers signed Patterson because of these new rules, so it makes sense that he’s excited for it. The Steelers only have five kick return touchdowns since 2000, and Patterson has nine in his career, nearly doubling the Steelers’ total in almost half the time. It’s not like running a kickoff back for a touchdown is easy, but Patterson has made it look so during his career.
Saying the Steelers’ offense has struggled the past few years would be the understatement of the century, and while they are primed to at least be average this year, if they aren’t, having a spark plug like Patterson could be the difference between winning and losing a game. Chris Boswell has shown Steelers fans that special teams can win a game.
It’s also clear, based on how some leaders on special teams are talking, that the Steelers are taking this rule change extremely seriously. They’re aware of how much of an impact it can have, and they’d clearly rather have Patterson with them than against them. Hopefully, even if he doesn’t score this year, Patterson can help the Steelers take advantage of the confusion some teams might have concerning these new rules, allowing them to get one step closer to their goal of winning a Super Bowl.
