The Pittsburgh Steelers have been hard at work retooling their offense this offseason. Pittsburgh cleared out its entire QB room to make room for Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. The former Bears QB has found himself in the headlines lately after teammate Jaylen Warren dropped a soundbite that the team’s special teams coordinator was considering using Fields as a kick returner in 2024. Apparently, a source within the Steelers’ building has fired back about this Fields rumor.
According to Steel Curtain Network’s Jeff Hartman, a source inside Pittsburgh’s building called the rumors of Fields “preposterous” and that it would never happen.
“They went on to say it’s ‘complete f’ing horse crap’,” Hartman said.
This all started when Steelers running back Jaylen Warren appeared on Cameron Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast. Warren was asked whether he’d want to play kick returner now that the NFL will be testing new XFL-style kickoff rules in 2024. He said he’d be open to it, then dropped the shocking bombshell about Fields.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” Warren said. “But our special teams coordinator was talking about Justin Fields being back there. We looked at him like, ‘Justin Fields is going to be back there?’ I don’t know, I think it’s cool.”
While Fields isn’t expected to start the season at QB, he will have an opportunity to pass Russell Wilson during training camp. Regardless, Fields is viewed as the long-term answer at QB past the 2024 season. That makes the idea of Fields as a kick returner a risky situation.
The Steelers will likely put Cordarrelle Patterson in as their return specialist, especially since he is one of the most prolific returners in NFL history.
Will the Pittsburgh Steelers make it back to the playoffs in 2024?
One question on the minds of many Steelers fans is whether the team is capable of getting back into the playoffs in 2024.
It is only fair to question how successful Pittsburgh can be this season. They play in an absolutely loaded AFC North division where the worst team finished 9-8 in 2023 — and that was a Joe Burrow-less Bengals team who started backup Jake Browning for multiple games.
The Steelers did make the postseason last year with a 10-7 record. However, they went to Buffalo in the Wild Card Round and were decisively defeated 31-17. Did that performance show that Pittsburgh is stuck in purgatory — good enough to make the playoffs, but not good enough to win a game?
Pittsburgh’s offensive overhaul is another reason to cast suspicion on their 2024 playoff hopes. The Steelers will be starting the season with a new offensive coordinator (Arthur Smith), a new starting QB (let’s assume Russell Wilson), at least one new starting wide receiver (Roman Wilson in for Diontae Johnson), and a retooled offensive line that projects to have multiple rookie starters. It’s reasonable to assume that it will take time for everyone to get on the same page — but the Steelers won’t have the luxury of time during the regular season. They cannot afford to get behind in the AFC North, particularly if that means dropping a game to a division rival.
According to multiple sportsbooks, the Pittsburgh Steelers currently have an over/under win total of between 7.5 and 8.5 wins. Pittsburgh will need to eclipse those win totals to have a prayer of making the playoffs in 2024.
