Earlier this month, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren revealed that the team was considering having quarterback Justin Fields return kicks this season.
More specifically, he said that special teams coach Danny Smith was weighing the idea.
Everyone took Warren seriously, and why wouldn’t they? It seemed like a rather strange thing to lie about.
Well, apparently, it was all a joke.
At least according to Fields, who has no intention of playing special teams for the Steelers.
“Nah, I’m not here to do that,” Fields said on Tuesday, via Brian Batko of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It was kind of a joke, to be honest with you.”
Justin Fields Thought The Whole Thing Was Funny
Pittsburgh acquired Fields in a trade with Chicago Bears back in March, but the deal occurred after the Steelers had already signed Russell Wilson.
As of right now, Fields is second on the depth chart, so when Warren made his proclamation, many wondered if using Fields on special teams would be Pittsburgh’s way of utilizing his talents while Wilson handled the quarterback position. At least for 2025.
“I think everybody kind of interpreted it wrong,” Fields said. “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.”
Evidently, Warren did not know that Smith was speaking tongue in cheek. Or maybe he did and he just decided to have some fun with it himself.
Whatever the case may be, Warren definitely caused a stir.
“It’s funny how serious social media takes everything,” added Fields. “It was kind of funny to me when everybody was making a big deal about it for no reason.”
Fields spent the first three years of his career with the Bears after being selected by the club with the 11th overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft.
The 25-year-old never quite took off in the Windy City, going just 10-28 as a starter. This past season, Fields threw for 2,562 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions over 13 starts. He also rushed for 657 yards and four touchdowns.
Chicago owned the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NFL Draft and selected USC quarterback Caleb Williams. The Bears jettisoned Fields a month earlier, which certainly did not come as a surprise.
