Did you hear all those weird rumors about Justin Fields returning kicks this season. As if a Steelers coach would commit to use a quarterback like that, right?
Well, Fields reacted the exact way just about everybody else did when the chatter started earlier this month. What the what?
“Nah, I’m not here to do that,” Fields told reporters on Tuesday when the Steelers went back to the practice fields for OTAs. “It was kind of a joke, to be honest with you.”
The “joke” got its comedy legs in early May when Steelers running back Jaylen Warren talked about a special teams meeting with Danny Smith. It seems Smith is talking up everybody playing on special teams. No player can be above taking a few snaps.
So why not have a quarterback, especially someone with such moves, field and return kicks? (Forget all about the chance of injury as a backup safety gets a free shot on a QB moonlighting as a returnman).
Fields told reporters he was in the Steelers meeting when Smith suggested he do it. Fields said he smirked when he heard Smith. He hadn’t returned kicks since he was in middle school back home in Kennesaw, Ga.
When Warren dropped the nugget on Cam Heyward’s podcast, social media did its thing. Everybody started talking about the possibility on whether the new Steelers quarterback would do something more than throw passes.
“It’s funny how serious social media takes everything,” Fields said. “It was kind of funny to me when everybody was making a big deal about it for no reason.”
Well, there were reasons to make a big deal about it. Fields and Russell Wilson are the new quarterbacks. Steelers fans are excited about the idea of a better offense. Whether these two will be responsible is a huge topic. Fields is a legitimate dual threat quarterback. The former Bear has started since his rookie season in 2021, since Chicago selected this former Ohio State star in the first round of the NFL Draft.
Plus, the NFL changed the kickoff rules, tweaking them to make this aspect of the game more must-see action.
“Hey, you never know. He might cook something up,” Fields said of Smith. “We’ll see what happens.”
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