A lot has changed for the Pittsburgh Steelers throughout the 2024 offseason. The biggest headlines have surrounded the quarterback and wide receiver positions, but a lingering issue that will continue to be in the news cycle throughout training camp is Cameron Heyward's contract situation. The current longest-tenured player and defensive captain for the franchise wants to continue to play football after 2024, but it may not end up being in the Steel City. He hasn't remained out of the spotlight throughout the long break from meaningful football games. He hosts his own podcast, Not Just Football with Cam Heyward.
Back in May, Heyward had on his teammate Jaylen Warren and the duo certainly stirred up some controversy. The ball-carrier brought up the fact that Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith may be interested in using new quarterback Justin Fields on kickoff returns given the new rules that will be implemented in 2024. It led to a media circus regarding the topic.
On the recently released episode of Heyward's podcast, he addressed the comments from Warren and admitted he felt terrible that Warren was thrown into the spotlight for his comments about Fields.
"I had to apologize to everybody. I had to apologize to Jaylen. I had to apologize to Justin Fields. I had to apologize to Danny Smith. I'm just like, bro, we were obviously kidding. We didn't expect Jaylen to say it. Jaylen said, 'I was just messing around, I didn't think it was going to be a big deal.' Everybody ran with it."
Heyward also was very short and to the point when talking about how bad he felt for a young running back that was just trying to joke around on a podcast. Heyward took accountability.
"I put Jaylen in a compromising position; I shouldn't have done that," Heyward said.
The prospect of Fields returning kicks, or at least being a part of the game plan is certainly attractive, but the chances of it occurring are likely only going to be in a potential do-or-die scenario. Smith will get creative with the new kickoff rules, but using a versatile backup quarterback often is probably not realistic given how the Steelers typically operate.
The Steelers are likely going to turn to Cordarrelle Patterson to return the kicks. The NFL's all-time leader in kickoff returns for touchdowns was a solid signing in free agency and with the new setup, has the opportunity to add onto his legacy in that area. It would be something else to see a signal-caller back there with him, but Heyward's comments confirm that the whole thing was a misunderstanding and that Warren was attempting to be funny.
Special teams is an underrated part of football and while Pittsburgh has gotten solid play from Miles Killebrew and Chris Boswell in recent years, there have been times where other areas have been shaky. Bringing in Patterson could give the unit an advantage when it comes to returning kicks. However, it would be nice if they weren't utilized too often, given the fact that almost always, kick returns mean the other team has scored points.
Steelers' Special Teams Unit In 2024 Could Be One Of NFL's Best
With Boswell and Killebrew leading the way, the additions of both Patterson and new punter Cameron Johnston could put Pittsburgh's special teams core on the map throughout the league. Smith's group could potentially be the difference between a win or a loss in more than one game. The schedule isn't easy and every phase of the game will need to be clicking. The revamped special teams unit will be more important than people realize.
