Could Justin Fields be both the Steelers’ No. 2 quarterback and their No. 2 kickoff returner? Steelers running back Jaylen Warren suggests he could.
The Steelers signed one of the NFL’s best return men, Cordarrelle Patterson, on the same day the NFL adopted the new kickoff rule, and it’s clear that they expect Patterson to be their primary kickoff returner. But kickoff return teams will line up with two returners deep, and Fields could be the other one.
When asked on teammate Cam Heyward’s podcast whether he would like to return kickoffs, Warren said he would — and then revealed that Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith wants to give Fields a try at returning kicks.
“I would, I think it’s pretty cool — as soon as you touch the ball that’s when everything starts to happen,” Warren said. “Our special teams coordinator was talking about Justin Fields being back there. . . . We looked at him like, Justin Fields will be back there? I think it’s cool.”
Warren said Fields might be the fastest player on the Steelers, and Fields has 2,220 rushing yards in his three-year NFL career, so he’s certainly capable of making plays with the ball in his hands. Fields wants to be a starting quarterback, and returning kickoffs does nothing to bolster his chances of being a starting quarterback some day, but if Russell Wilson is starting and returning kickoff is the only way for Fields to get on the field, perhaps he could do it. NFL teams will be thinking outside the box with the new kickoff rule, and Fields as a return man would certainly be outside-the-box thinking.