PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Kaleb Johnson won’t be returning kicks for the Steelers this week in New England. What Mike Tomlin said about his rookie running back/kick returner after a play Tomlin said shaped and turned the loss to Seattle.
Johnson allowed a kickoff to bounce over his head into the end zone in the fourth quarter and didn’t attempt to go after it. Seahawks would recover for a touchdown to suddenly make a three-point lead, 10 points.
“I’m certainly going to give him an opportunity to work his way back from that error,” Tomlni said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “I believe in his talent. He’s a sharp young man, a hard-worker.”
Johnson said after the game he has to go out there every day and work harder and with a chip on his shoulder after the mistake.
He has returned most of the Steelers kicks this year, eight for an average of 23.8. That ranks 33rd in the NFL of players who have had multiple kickoff returns this season. Offensively, Johnson has had four snaps with a pair of carries for negative one yard. The Steelers picked him in the third round with the hopes he could make an impact following 1,537 yards and 21 touchdowns last year at Iowa when he was named the Big 10 running back of the year.
It won’t be anything Johnson can say to Tomlin, the coaches or his teammates. It’s the effort, level of consistency and detail in practice that will determine his 2025 going forward.
“You got man up,” Tomlin said. “You got to acknowledge your shortcomings. You got to work to move beyond it and it’s my job as a leader to provide that opportunity.”
Tomlin says if Johnson does what he’s asking, he’ll be back.
“You leave the light on for him,” Tomlin said. “You give him an opportunity to move on from it, but he has to do that. He has to display that with his daily work. He’s got to earn himself back into position to be a participant. We’ll see where the roads lead us. I’m open to it certainly.”