Jaylen Warren: Justin Fields Discussed as Steelers Kick Returner amid NFL Rule Change

The NFL's new kickoff return rule figures to create additional excitement and scoring opportunities when playmakers get their hands on the ball.

Which apparently had the Pittsburgh Steelers thinking well outside the box.

Steelers running back Jaylen Warren revealed that Pittsburgh special teams coordinator Danny Smith discussed the possibility of putting quarterback Justin Fields on special teams to return kicks:

While the crowd's reaction and Warren's laughter suggest Fields likely won't be filling that role, kickoffs will look quite different in 2024 even without quarterbacks returning them.

The new hybrid kickoff rule was put in place to theoretically increase the number of returns while decreasing the chance of injuries since players will not be taking long-distance running starts before colliding.

Instead, the kicking team will place 10 players at the opponent's 40-yard line, while the returning team places at least nine players in the "setup zone" between its 35- and 30-yard lines with one or two returners in the "landing zone" between the 20-yard line and the goal line.

Nobody outside of the kicker and returners can move until the ball hits the ground or a player in the landing zone, and there are no fair catches. Touchbacks go to the 30-yard line, decreasing the reward for kicking the ball into the end zone.

Teams will look to take advantage of the rules by putting fast and shifty runners back for returns, but they probably won't go as far as using a quarterback.

Still, Fields would be the ideal quarterback to use if a team had to choose one.

He ran for 1,143 yards and eight touchdowns during the 2022 season and followed up with 657 yards and four scores as a runner during the 2023 campaign. His ability to escape pressure in the pocket and make plays downfield after breaking loose was one of his best traits during his time with the Chicago Bears, and he could certainly make defenders miss in the open field.

Yet the Steelers likely won't risk injury to one of their quarterbacks, even if Russell Wilson ends up the starter.

That is especially the case since they signed Cordarrelle Patterson this offseason.

Patterson is one of the best kick returners in NFL history and was presumably added for that reason. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo even reported last month that Patterson's agent was in Orlando, Florida, during the league meetings and "virtually waiting for the signal from the room the new kickoff rule had been approved."

So look for Patterson and not Fields when Pittsburgh lines up to return kicks this season.