Will he or won’t he?
Steelers running back Jaylen Warren suggested on Cam Heyward’s podcast earlier this month that special teams coordinator Danny Smith has plans to use quarterback Justin Fields as a kickoff returner this season.
Fields, though, downplayed that idea Tuesday.
“Nah, I think everybody kind of interpreted it wrong,” Fields said, via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Coach Danny was basically just trying to send a message that no matter who you are, you could be on special teams. He just used that as an example.”
Smith mentioned it at a team meeting, but Fields said he smirked because he hasn’t played special teams since middle school.
“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.”
Could Fields be downplaying it now, hoping other teams won’t be expecting it when it happens? PFT heard rumblings, before Warren dropped the nugget, that the Steelers believe Fields could be a weapon as a kickoff returner under the NFL’s new rules.
“Hey, you never know,” Fields said. "[Smith] might cook something up. We’ll see what happens.”
Fields then made clear his goal is to learn Arthur Smith’s offense and compete with Russell Wilson as a quarterback.
“Nah, I’m not here to do that,” Fields said of special teams. “It was kind of a joke, to be honest with you.”
