After his special teams mistake in Week 2 that played a key part in a loss, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson didn’t play a single snap in Week 3 on the road against the New England Patriots.
It might stay that way for a bit, too.
Though he was active and had a helmet on gameday, Johnson didn’t see the field. Veteran running back Trey Sermon was elevated from the practice squad and played on special teams over Johnson as the rookie sat and watched.
That could continue deep into the season. At least, that’s how former Steelers running back and current analyst Merril Hoge sees it.
Appearing on the 102.5 WDVE Morning Show Tuesday, Hoge stated that confidence is a big thing with coaches and players. After Johnson’s mistake, the coaching staff might not have the confidence in the rookie to put him on the field.
“A coach doesn’t put a player out there unless they trust him. And if the kid doesn’t trust himself, boy that’s a hard…you’re dealing with something that’s really difficult,” Hoge said of Johnson, according to audio via 102.5 WDVE. “You may not see him a lot this year and I don’t think you’ll see him maybe until a few weeks down the road to get his confidence back, find some packages, make sure that he knows what he’s doing so that you’re confident in him and helping the team versus just throwing him out there.”
It wasn’t much of a surprise that the Steelers didn’t play Johnson at all in Week 3. It was surprising though that they left him active, even with Sermon elevated and dressed. Sitting Johnson down entirely and letting him catch his breath might have been a better decision, which would have allowed the Steelers to dress an extra defensive lineman.
But that wasn’t the decision, and instead, Johnson stood there in full pads and never stepped between the white lines. He didn’t need to on offense, either, with the way Jaylen Warren played. Even Kenneth Gainwell had some decent moments in relief, too.
That said, the Steelers need to start building up Johnson offensively just a bit. He needs to get some work in if he’s going to improve. If the Steelers want to be that true ground-and-pound team and win up front, they’re going to need all hands on deck at running back in a long, challenging season.
That includes Johnson. So far though, we haven’t seen him. He has just three carries on the year.
Hoge’s comments about not seeing Johnson much this year aren’t all that new. Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made similar comments a few weeks ago after the special teams mistake.
Sitting Johnson much of the season and not giving him many opportunities, especially offensively, would be short-sighted for the Steelers. It sounds like they aren’t considering that, based on head coach Mike Tomlin’s recent comments about Johnson. He’ll get an opportunity to redeem himself and bounce back.
But when that occurs is anyone’s guess.
