Steelers Now
Former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger believes fans may have seen the last of a Pittsburgh Steelers rookie this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers rookie running back Kaleb Johnson had one of the most head-scratching mishaps on a kickoff return in the fourth quarter of their 31-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2.
Johnson let the kickoff land at the 10-yard line and roll into the end zone, and instead of tracking it down for a touchback, he headed toward the sideline, appearing to believe he wasn’t required to retrieve it.
Seahawks running back George Holani then pounced on the ball for a touchdown that gave them a 10-point lead with just 12:46 left in the game.
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger thinks it’s a mistake that could cause Johnson to miss the rest of his rookie season.
“After last week — not getting much action — and this week, that happening. Unless injuries or something happen, we may not see him again the rest of the year,” Roethlisberger said on the latest episode of Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger. “There’s a chance. I don’t want to just call it a doghouse, but that’s tough. It’s a tough place, a tough situation. But you know the rules.”
Pittsburgh selected Johnson in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft with the hopes that he would replace Najee Harris as the team’s bruiser running back. That is not how things have played out thus far, though.
Johnson has carried the football just two times for zero yards over the past two weeks, along with fumbling a kickoff return to go with his latest mishap.
However, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t seem ready to completely give up on the rookie quite yet.
“It’s poor judgment by a young player,” Tomlin said.
That doesn’t mean Johnson will see the field in the short term, but for a player who has been praised for his work ethic, it will simply be a learning lesson until he earns his next opportunity on the field.
“If I wasn’t sure, if I was sure, (it) doesn’t matter,” Johnson said. “I still gotta do what I gotta do, and I still gotta go in there and execute the way it needs to be executed.”
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Ben Roethlisberger Predicts Harsh Fate For Steelers Rookie
