Steelers' Justin Fields Downplays Buzz on Returning Kicks: 'I'm Not Here to Do That'

No, Justin Fields won't be returning kickoffs this season.

In April, running back Jaylen Warren said on Cameron Heyward's Not Just Football podcast that Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith relayed during a team meeting that he might give the quarterback a try at returning kicks this season.

But Fields put those rumors to rest on Tuesday.

"Nah, I think everybody kind of interpreted it wrong," he told reporters. "Coach Danny was basically just trying to send a message that no matter who you are, you could be on special teams. He just used that as an example."

"I'm not here to do that," he added. "It was kind of a joke, to be honest with you."

The NFL's new kickoff rules will place the ball on the 35-yard line but the non-kickers will line up at the receiving team's 40-yard line, reducing the amount of distance run in an effort to limit injuries. Those players will not be permitted to begin running down the field until the kick returner first touches the ball or it hits the landing zone.

Blockers on the receiving team—who will be lined up 5-10 yards away from the defending team—also aren't permitted to move or engage with the defensive team until the returner touches the ball or it hits the landing zone. The new rules are expected to result in more kick returns.

That, in turn, has some fans and pundits wondering if special-teams coordinators could out different types of players as return men. Most teams probably don't want 11 players sprinting directly at their quarterback with the intent of leveling him, however, even if the new rules should result in fewer major collisions.

"I think it's pretty cool, as soon as you touch the ball that's when everything starts to happen," Warren said back in April. "Our special teams coordinator was talking about Justin Fields being back there... We looked at him like, 'Justin Fields will be back there?' I think it's cool."

No, Fields won't be back there. Even if he ends up being the backup quarterback to Russell Wilson—and even if he is one of the most dynamic playmakers with the ball in his hands in football—his new team isn't going to risk a major injury.

It would be fun. It just wouldn't be very wise.