Redemption, thy name is Kaleb Johnson. Maybe.
Johnson’s rookie season has been defined by one moment. One the Pittsburgh Steelers RB would prefer to forget. A kick-return gaffe for the ages, letting the Seattle Seahawks’ kick roll past him for a touchdown in Week 2. A hard lesson to learn but one he was more than capable coming back from. Since, Johnson has seen a handful of carries as he’s slowly earned the trust of the offensive coaching staff. But he’s been removed from his return role, the obvious punishment required for a moment like that.
Mike Tomlin never closed the door on giving Johnson a second chance. Sunday might be that opportunity.
It could come at the cost of another rookie trying to get past a mistake of his own. Wide receiver Ke’Shawn Williams muffed a punt as one of three Steelers turnovers in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. It wasn’t a turning point of the game the way Johnson’s blunder was but it’s a moment that won’t make coaches happy. It certainly didn’t please Tomlin, who hinted Williams would not resume his returner role handling punts.
“Certainly, we’ll look at it this week and make plans accordingly given what transpired in the last game,” Tomlin said Tuesday when asked if Williams would hold onto his role.
Maybe Williams will. Until that point, he had done a nice job in the return game. But if Johnson was punished for his mistake, it’s consistent to do the same to Williams. And if Calvin Austin III’s role will be reduced with Roman Wilson taking charge, it’s all the more reason to move Williams off that unit. If he’s off punts, he’s probably off kicks and doesn’t have enough stand-alone value to be active. Especially if Marquez Valdes-Scantling is elevated this weekend along with Scotty Miller being back to full health.
When Johnson was first removed from return duty, RB Trey Sermon replaced him. The big-body type of back Pittsburgh loves using back there. But Sermon doesn’t appear to be an option. Waived this week and signed back to the practice squad, he’s out of elevations having already been called up three times this year (being cut doesn’t restart the clock).
If not Williams and if not Sermon, then who? There are other options. Roman Wilson is a candidate after getting work there during training camp. Still, his kick-return background is light. Just six runbacks in college. Maybe RB Lew Nichols could be elevated for a second time this season and be placed back there. Maybe Miller, if active, gets a look. But of that group, Johnson is the only one who has done it this year.
Johnson is still barely playing on offense. A carry here and there. After Aaron Rodgers’ urging to get Jaylen Warren the football more and a week removed from Warren failing to play a single third down, the focus will be on keeping Warren out there. Not Johnson. Johnson returning, literally and figuratively, kicks increases his gameday value.
If this was the plan, we probably would’ve heard about it by now. A reporter would’ve noticed it at practice and worked it into a conversation. That’s usually how these things go. But maybe Johnson has been part of the normal kick-return rotation this entire time and it’s hard to tell if anything is different this week.
Johnson will be at home and two months removed from his mistake. Enough time has passed for him to be in position to get another chance. Not that I am banging the gavel for it but if Williams is persona non grata this week, someone has to take his place. That might be Kaleb Johnson.
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