Steelers Coaches Get Honest About RB Kaleb Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson has had a less-than-ideal start to his NFL career after being picked in the third round of the 2025 draft, with his special teams gaffe against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2 still remaining a point of conversation.
In that contest, Johnson failed to field a ball that bounced over his head in the landing zone and found its way to the end zone, where the Seahawks recovered it for a touchdown in the fourth quarter before going on to win by a score of 31-17.
Johnson had logged 11 snaps as a kick returner and racked up 190 yards on eight attempts before his game-changing mistake, but he hasn't gotten an opportunity on special teams since.
While meeting with the media at the start of the team's Week 5 bye, Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith revealed he didn't react to the play in real time and instead waited to deal with it while watching film.
“Connor Heyward was telling him, ‘we go over that all the time,’" Smith said. "That was before I got there. I didn’t say much on the field to him. We replaced him, and he wasn’t ready to go back out there. I dealt with it in a tape session."
Fellow running backs Trey Sermon and Kenneth Gainwell have handled all kick returning duties since the start of Week 3 while Johnson has sat and seemingly continued learning from his error vs. Seattle.
Johnson's offensive role had been minuscule over the first three weeks of the season while playing behind Jaylen Warren and Gainwell, logging just two carries for -1 yards over that span, though he finally saw an increase in his touches while the former was ruled out in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings due to a knee injury.
Gainwell handled a majority of the responsibilities out of the backfield with 25 touches for 134 yards and two touchdowns from scrimmage, but Johnson had his most productive game as a professional with six attempts for 22 yards on the ground.
Running backs coach Eddie Faulkner discussed Johnson's development thus far, stating that he has a ton of talent and that having a chance to see the field more against Minnesota should provide a nice boost for him moving forward.
“He’s doing fine," Faulkner said. "Kaleb is in a fortunate spot where he has two veterans ahead of him who are selfless and willing to help him whenever they can. He’s a great talent. There’s a growth needed there... He went in the (Vikings) game and that was a big boost for him. He was able to get a couple of good runs in there. I could feel a little bit of the pressures he had felt lifted off his shoulders."
Though Johnson hasn't been featured prominently as a rookie, there's still hope that he'll emerge as a key future piece for Pittsburgh.
Steelers explain why promising wide receiver isn’t playing much: ‘He’s not in the doghouse’
PITTSBURGH -- Roman Wilson had an encouraging summer at training camp, but the second-year Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver has yet to get going.
So, what could possibly be happening to keep Wilson off the football field? Wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni says it might not be as much about what Wilson is doing, but what the Steelers’ offense is doing.
Currently, the team leads the league in 12 personnel (2 tight ends, 2 wide receivers, 1 running back), and Calvin Austin III and DK Metcalf continue to take those snaps. When the team wants to go big for blockers, they go to Ben Skowronek.
Meanwhile, when the team has needed someone to step up in case of injury, the other star of the summer, Scotty Miller, is who they have turned to in those instances.
“Roman’s progressing. He’s doing a good job. You know, I’ve gotten that question a bit from a lot of people, and he’s doing great. There’s no ‘Roman’s in the doghouse’ or anything like that. Roman’s doing just fine,” Azzanni said on Tuesday. “We just happen to be pretty good at tight end and wideout and what we’re doing, running the ball. But Roman, he’s in the mix just like all the other guys. Obviously, his role will keep elevating as the season goes on, for sure. Organically. And it will just start to happen. I just tell him, ‘When it happens, be ready. Be ready for that opportunity.’ Just like that (recovering an) onside kick (against Minnesota). And he was.”
If Austin has to miss time with a shoulder injury suffered against the Minnesota Vikings, Wilson would be in contention to take over that role, but it seems Miller would be the first in line.
So, outside of that, what could the team really look to do with Wilson? For now, he has to keep grinding away at his role, which is mostly as a speedy slot receiver who can make explosive plays.
“It’s not just one person,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said about replacing Austin. “I mean, it’s like week-to-week. … Certainly Roman, those other receivers, there will be more opportunities depending on what Calvin — how long they tell us, what’s really going on there.”
The preseason showed that Wilson has a skillset that can pop, even against starters. Wilson played just two drives against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but in that time, he beat starting cornerback Tyson Campbell on a crosser. He finished with two receptions for 26 yards, an impressive outing for him.
Against the Buccaneers, Wilson carried that momentum into his second preseason game. He dusted quarters coverage from Jamel Dean over the top on a post route, hauling in a 42-yard connection from Mason Rudolph. Later on, he would separate on a crosser easily, gaining a chunk of 30 yards on another reception.
However, the regular season is a different beast, and in order for Wilson to gain more snaps, he has to become more well-rounded as a player.
