If you watched the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason opener with zero other context of the roster ahead of time, you would’ve assumed rookie John Rhys Plumlee was a wide receiver. Or maybe a running back. Or a converted H-back trying to make it at a new position.
Plumlee is a quarterback. At least on the depth chart. Against the Houston Texans, he did everything else.
The answer to a trivia question 10 years from now will be Plumlee. The question – who was the first Pittsburgh Steeler to return a kick under the NFL’s new rules? Plumlee, standing back with RB Jonathan Ward, took the opening kickoff 19 yards to the Steelers’ 23 yard-line, perhaps the first time in team history a quarterback returned a kickoff.
The return would’ve been better had CB Darius Rush not gotten blown up trying to block, tossed into Plumlee for the “tackle.”
Plumlee, like in training camp, still isn’t wearing gloves and might be the only returner this weekend not to use them. Presumably, it’s because he doesn’t wear gloves playing quarterback and changing would be perhaps uncomfortable.
He added a more successful return later in the half, a 28-yard runback as he cut to the right and found space. The return to the 27 was negated by a Ryan Watts block in the back but this was a nice return otherwise.
But my favorite moment of his came late in the game. And a shock to me, personally. Not only did Plumlee serve as the personal protector/up back on the punt coverage team, the quarterback of the unit and role that will be held by Miles Killebrew once the season starts, Plumlee ran down and made the tackle.
A rookie quarterback making a tackle on the punt team late in the fourth quarter. God bless preseason football.
His teammates noticed too, players and one of the coaches generating hype for him on the sidelines. During training camp, I never observed Plumlee work on the punt coverage team. Kick return team, sure, and I expected him to be a starting returner in this one. Perhaps S Nate Meadors’ injury late in camp changed things. During Wednesday’s practice, Meadors served as the starting up back but suffered a hamstring injury later in the day. Still, RB Aaron Shampklin worked as the second-teamer but did not get the nod in-game, at least not here.
The only thing it felt like Plumlee didn’t do was actually play quarterback. Kyle Allen replaced Justin Fields after three series and finished the game, bouncing back from a tough start. It was Allen who got to work two late fourth-quarter drives, moments where it would’ve been logical to put Plumlee in. But Allen is a veteran, and Pittsburgh trusts him to command things more, hoping to get a cleaner evaluation of the offense and more reps to watch. Plumlee’s camp reps have been limited this week and his two-minute drive in practice was unsuccessful.
If you’re wondering why Plumlee is getting all these unique chances, he has an athletic background. A multi-sport star in college, playing baseball his entire college football career. And he spent more than a full season playing wide receiver at Ole Miss after initially committing as a quarterback. He returned to quarterback when he transferred to the University of Central Florida to finish his college tenure.
Plumlee’s in a situation most quarterbacks aren’t. It really is Taysom Hill-like. But as the fourth-string quarterback fighting for reps and trying to stick around the team, you gotta do whatever you can to add value. If he was the “normal” fourth-stringer, he would’ve held the clipboard the entire game and done nothing to help his cause. This is Plumlee fighting and scraping for a practice squad spot where he could offer valuable scout-team looks and wear lots of hats. His future is unknown but he’s an easy guy to root for.
