Kaden Wetjen punt return TD
Kaden Wetjen punt return TD
Things weren’t going all that well for Pittsburgh Steelers rookie wide receiver Kaden Wetjen Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills in the preseason finale, especially in the return game.
But it only takes one snap to turn things around.
Following a big sack from defensive lineman Anthony Goodlow that pinned the Bills inside their own 1-yard line leading to a punt, Wetjen generated splash for the Steelers, returning the punt 45 yards for the score, all but locking his roster spot in place.
Here’s the punt return for the score.
Kaden Wetjen punt return TD!!!!!!!!!! #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/3AkpUbZHMd
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 28, 2026
Prior to the 45-yard punt return, Wetjen had just 16 yards on three punt returns. He was seemingly trying to do too much with poor blocking in front of him, leading to him dancing too much and not getting upfield.
Wetjen had plenty of space at the time of the catch and sprinted out to his right. He forced one defender to miss, and then cut back to his left, making another defender miss. That allowed him to get into space, turn the corner and then he was off to the races with just the punter to beat, doing so with ease.
The Steelers drafted Wetjen in the fourth round due to his special teams abilities. He won the Jet Award in back-to-back seasons at Iowa as the nation’s best return specialist, becoming the first player to ever win the award twice.
But despite being a fourth-round pick, Wetjen entered Thursday night needing to make some plays after a fumble against the Jets and some poor decisions in the return game. He got off to a rough start, but that punt return TD changed everything for the rookie.