{"id":60444,"date":"2025-05-18T17:59:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-18T17:59:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/60444\/"},"modified":"2025-05-18T17:59:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T17:59:09","slug":"who-are-the-steelers-kick-returners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/60444\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Are The Steelers’ Kick Returners?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For as much discussion as there\u2019s been over the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 starting quarterback and now wide receiver post-George Pickens trade, there\u2019s another hole on the roster with questions still unanswered well into May. Who are the Steelers\u2019 starting kick returners?<\/p>\n

Last year, Cordarrelle Patterson was signed to be that guy. Injury and warm weather prevented him from even returning a kick until November, and when he got his chance, he faltered. On 11 returns, he averaged just 21.8 yards per try. It was the lowest mark of anyone in the NFL with double-digit returns and Pittsburgh finished the year with the league\u2019s worst kick return average in the league. The Steelers were one of four teams to see their kick return average regress from a season ago<\/a> under the NFL\u2019s \u201cdynamic kickoff\u201d model that was supposed to increase productivity.<\/p>\n

Patterson remains on roster. Even with Kaleb Johnson and Kenneth Gainwell\u2019s offseason additions, Pittsburgh may hold onto him a little while longer until they get on-field looks at new acquisitions during spring workouts. Or perhaps the team still has faith in him. After all, Patterson looked spry before his 2024 ankle injury and his contract isn\u2019t massive if the team wants to carry him throughout training camp. Still, it\u2019s hard to believe his name is written in pen.<\/p>\n

New kickoff rules require two returners in the \u201clanding zone.\u201d Who else could be in the mix? Gainwell returned kicks for Philadelphia last season. He was more effective than Patterson but hardly great at it with a long of 36 yards on 18 tries. The rookie Johnson is also in play, mentioning to reporters he could get a look there with the Steelers. He dabbled there at Iowa with 13 returns for the Hawkeyes.<\/p>\n

Jaylen Warren returned nine kicks last season, but with Warren potentially facing a larger share of offensive carries, Pittsburgh probably won\u2019t be eager to put him back there. New WR Robert Woods is 33 but returned kicks and a couple punts for the Houston Texans last season. With his speed, Roman Wilson figures to at least get a look as he tries to erase the memory of a lost rookie season. RB Jonathan Ward should also get reps in the return lines this summer, but he\u2019s not currently projected to make the initial 53.<\/p>\n

Could any defensive player get a chance? It typically isn\u2019t Mike Tomlin\u2019s prerogative, but there\u2019s at least one name worth mentioning. Seventh-round pick Donte Kent shared punt return duties at Central Michigan, and while he doesn\u2019t have a kick return resume, his sub-4.4 speed should give him a chance. The more hats he can wear, the better off the team is, and Pittsburgh drafted Kent largely for his versatility.<\/p>\n

Assuming Patterson isn\u2019t on the initial 53-man roster, Gainwell should be the most likely and primary returner. Who could be the other? I\u2019ll guess Roman Wilson gets the nod, but Johnson and Woods should compete alongside him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For as much discussion as there\u2019s been over the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 starting quarterback and now wide receiver post-George…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60445,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2055],"tags":[2693,7,1736,274,14451,6,520,57,2360,5329,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-60444","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-donte-kent","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-jaylen-warren","11":"tag-kaleb-johnson","12":"tag-kenneth-gainwell","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-pittsburgh","15":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","16":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","17":"tag-robert-woods","18":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60444"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60444\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}