NEWSLETTER
Now that the NFL Draft is one week in our rearview mirror, we’re hitting the part of the offseason where weird football stories pop up on our radar.
And I’m not sure anything will be weirder than this clip from Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren sharing that Special Teams Coordinator David Smith has discussed using Justin Fields as a kick returner. Yes, we’re talking about former Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields. And yes, we’re talking about a Pittsburgh Steelers franchise (which traded for Fields earlier in the offseason) that is held in high regard and is seen as a gold-standard football organization. Is it weird enough for you yet?
How did this even come up? Let’s start with some context. The idea popped up while Jaylen Warren was on teammate Cam Heyward’s podcast answering a question whether he would like to return kicks in 2024. Warren started his answer by saying that he would, which got a lukewarm response from the crowd in attendance (probably because those fans don’t want to risk the team’s best running back getting injured on special teams). Then, Warren dropped the Fields nugget. Here is the clip:
“I would, I think it’s pretty cool — as soon as you touch the ball that’s when everything starts to happen. But our special teams coordinator was talking about Justin Fields being back there. We’re like hold on … We looked at him like, Justin Fields is about to be back there? And, I don’t know, I think it’s cool.”
This is where I would usually put a witty retort about the quote above. But I’ve got nothing. Justin Fields returning kicks feels kin to putting the most obscure abstract piece of art in the middle of your living room just to get a reaction while acting like you’re not doing so because all you seek is a reaction.
Justin Fields in a kick return role is weird for the sake of weird
I bet Fields’ agent isn’t too thrilled about this development, especially since he’ll be marketing his client as a quarterback next offseason when the QB draft class is underwhelming.
On the one hand this is pretty nuts. Justin Fields is a quarterback. Yes, he runs with power, speed, and grace. But using him in kick returns feels like an attempt at making “fetch” happen. And I’m sorry, but you’re not going to make “fetch” happen, Gretchen Wieners Danny Smith. But on the other hand, I admire the creativity of a coach who is trying to find a use for every player on the roster. Maybe studying the new kick return rules led the Steelers special teams coordinator to think about using Fields this way. Sure, it’s crazy. But sometimes crazy works in the NFL.
With that being said, the Steelers signed Cordarrelle Patterson earlier in the offseason. Heck, the signing came shortly after the new kick return rules were given the green light by the league. It was almost as if the powers that be in Pittsburgh saw the new rules and immediately came to the conclusion that Patterson is an ideal fit for what that special teams out fit wants to do. I can’t say I blame ’em. Patterson is one of the greatest kick returners of all time. And now that Devin Hester has broken down the Hall of Famer barrier, we could see a day in which one former Bear follows another into Canton.
In other words, signing Patterson only to use Fields in that spot feels galaxy-brained.
At the end of the day, I’m just rooting for Justin Fields to play 51 percent of the team’s snaps at quarterback so the sixth-round pick Pittsburgh is sending to Chicago can turn into a fourth-rounder. Beyond that, I won’t care too much. The Bears have Caleb Williams, a cool new quarterback to obsess over these days and I’d rather spend more time discussing his future than what is happening with signal callers of the past.
