When Pittsburgh Steelers WR Calvin Austin III went down with an injury earlier this season, his absence didn’t just affect the offense. It also affected the Steelers’ punt-return game. The Steelers turned to rookie practice squad WR Ke’Shawn Williams to help handle Austin’s return duties.
And, overall, Williams acquitted himself well as a punt returner. That is until Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Williams struggled to make a positive impact before fumbling in the fourth quarter to give the ball back to the Chargers. What does that mean for the punt returner spot going forward? And why was Austin not back there in the first place?
“As Calvin came back from injury, we wanted him to focus on getting back up to speed offensively,” Tomlin said Tuesday during his weekly press conference, per video from the team’s YouTube channel. “Key had done an above-the-line job in that space. But certainly, we’ll look at it this week and make plans accordingly, given what transpired in the last game.”
As our own Matthew Marczi noted in his Stock Watch on Williams, Williams had done a good job as a punt returner before Sunday. He had a healthy 11.2 yards per return up to that point. That’s higher than Austin’s 2024 average of 10.3 yards.
But you cannot make mistakes on special teams. We saw that earlier this season with rookie RB Kaleb Johnson during the Seattle Seahawks game. Since that mistake, Johnson hasn’t been back returning kicks. He’s slowly worked his way into the running back rotation behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell, but the Steelers aren’t using him on the kick-return team.
With Calvin Austin III back healthy, the Steelers could very well do the same with Ke’Shawn Williams. Obviously, the Steelers’ top priority for Austin is him making a positive impact on offense. But special teams fumbles cost the team possessions. That will hinder everyone’s offensive productivity. So, don’t be surprised if Austin is back returning punts Sunday against the Bengals. Even if Mike Tomlin won’t commit to it yet.
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