![\"Steelers'](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Kaleb-Johnson-6-e1775184921639.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson.<\/p>\n
Pittsburgh Steelers<\/a> head coach Mike McCarthy made news this week while discussing several players on his roster, including second-year running back Kaleb Johnson<\/a>.<\/p>\n After a third-round selection and a lot of hype heading into training camp, Johnson didn\u2019t get much run with the first-team offense as a rookie, falling behind veterans Jaylen Warren<\/a> and Kenneth Gainwell<\/a> on the depth chart.<\/p>\n Fans of his hoped that would change in 2026, with McCarthy taking over and Gainwell likely leaving in free agency, but the Steelers had other plans. Although Gainwell did choose to sign elsewhere, the former Dallas Cowboys<\/a> HC promptly reunited with Rico Dowdle<\/a> on the open market, seemingly burying Johnson on the depth chart once again.<\/p>\n On March 31, McCarthy addressed Johnson\u2019s rookie struggles on special teams, as well as his role going forward.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is like a Catholic operation,\u201d McCarthy told The Athletic\u2019s Mike DeFabo<\/a>. \u201cYou say three Hail Marys, the priest blessed you, and everybody\u2019s got a clean slate.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI understood what happened with [Johnson] on special teams, and so I\u2019ve heard all that,\u201d the new HC went on. \u201cBut he\u2019s a young man. I\u2019m going to challenge him to be a three-down player and challenge him to be a special teams player. Those things are a part of being a young running back in this league, especially with the two guys in front of him.\u201d<\/p>\n Steelers HC Mike McCarthy Planning to \u2018Challenge\u2019 Kaleb Johnson in 2026 GettyWill Kaleb Johnson carve out a role in the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 running back room in 2026?<\/p>\n McCarthy\u2019s \u201cclean slate\u201d comment is certainly positive news for the Steelers third-rounder. And his \u201cthree Hail Marys\u201d quote caught some attention on social media, as the new head coach provided fans with his first McCarthyism after years of deciphering Mike Tomlin\u2019s creative way of speaking.<\/p>\n Having said that, the more important quote might have been hidden within McCarthy\u2019s follow-up explanation.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to challenge [Johnson] to be a three-down player and challenge him to be a special teams player,\u201d the Steelers HC stated. And that message is as clear as day.<\/p>\n Like every player on the roster, Johnson will have an opportunity in 2026. But that opportunity won\u2019t be handed out; it must be earned.<\/p>\n Johnson is a fresh-legged 22-year-old who turns 23 in August. He\u2019s got years on both Warren and Dowdle, in a good way, and he\u2019s got the talent and the draft status, too.<\/p>\n Want to know what the youngster doesn\u2019t have and failed to show as a rookie? Determination, grit, and an overwhelming desire to succeed.<\/p>\n Johnson went up against a former undrafted rookie and a fifth-round cast-off in 2025 and lost the position battle. Why? Experience played a factor, but the two veterans also wanted it more.<\/p>\n In 2026, he\u2019s going up against two former UDFAs who have fought and clawed their way into starting roles at the NFL<\/a> level. Johnson must adopt that mentality, and that\u2019s McCarthy\u2019s challenge, at its core.<\/p>\n Kill or be killed. Remember, a \u201cclean slate\u201d wipes away draft status, too.<\/p>\n Steelers Insider Weighs in on McCarthy\u2019s RB News<\/p>\n DeFabo didn\u2019t have a whole lot to say about McCarthy\u2019s quote, but did provide a brief interpretation within his article.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile Johnson\u2019s kick-return blunder took him out of a special teams role, McCarthy wants to start fresh with all of his players,\u201d DeFabo noted.<\/p>\n Adding: \u201cIronically, while that miscue on special teams hurt Johnson\u2019s chances of contributing as a rookie, succeeding in the third phase could be critical to him finding a role this year.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier, DeFabo also relayed that McCarthy \u201csees offseason addition Rico Dowdle and Jaylen Warren as runners capable of playing on every down.\u201d<\/p>\n Both this and the special teams assessment should serve as a blunt reality check for Johnson as he attempts to make more of an impact in year two.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMichael Obermuller<\/a> covers the NFL as an Associate Editor for Heavy Sports, where he began writing in 2021. His areas of focus include the NFL breaking news operation, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers, with expert knowledge on each based on years of coverage. Michael is an NYC area native and Quinnipiac graduate. More about Michael Obermuller<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Steelers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson. Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy made news this week while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":850647,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2055],"tags":[7,6,520,57,2360,426],"class_list":{"0":"post-850646","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pittsburgh-steelers","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-nfl","10":"tag-pittsburgh","11":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","12":"tag-pittsburghsteelers","13":"tag-steelers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116338790262211511","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850646","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=850646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/850646\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/850647"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=850646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=850646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=850646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Steelers'](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Kaleb-Johnson-7-e1775184948469.jpg\")
<\/p>\n