The Pittsburgh Steelers have completed their first preseason game of the 2024 season, and will now begin to prepare for the second against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. Though the result of game one wasn't what Head Coach Mike Tomlin expected, there were a lot of things to like that were put on tape. However, there was a glaring hole that the Steelers need to fill before the regular season gets underway.
The area needing arguably the most attention is special teams. The Steelers have been waiting for a dynamic return man for the past few seasons, and thought they could find that spark in the first game of the preseason. Miscues allowed Houston to take advantage of prime field position, which in the end cost the Steelers the game.
The black and gold were without return man Cordarrelle Patterson , who was held out of the opening contest on the team's non-football injury list, but he has since been activated and cleared to play. Now ready to get involved and help the team win, Patterson spoke with the media to discuss what role he see's himself in with the Steelers. "I fit in any role, just put me out there on the football field.
I'm gonna find a way." The primary role that the Steelers brought Patterson in for was for his expertise as a kick returner. With the new kickoff rule that already is proving to be a problem for, not just the Steelers, but the rest of the NFL, getting an opportunity to observe how other teams are handling it has been a massive plus for Patterson.
"It's kind of different. I watched the game last night and the Jaguars had a good return. It gives a lot of guys like me a lot of hope, so hopefully we will see when Week 1 comes.
" The Steelers opened the season by placing running back Jonathan Ward and quarterback John Rhys Plumlee back to return the kickoff. Headed into Saturday's games, teams from around the league played around with the right combination to return kicks, with the Steelers being the only team to employ someone listed as a quarterback on the depth chart. The Jacksonville Jaguars may have found the blueprint to successful returns, courtesy of Parker Washington's 73-yard return .
Patterson hopes to use this blueprint to build a strong structure in Pittsburgh. Steelers' Signing Of Patterson Was Arguably The Most Important In 2024 Offseason For Pittsburgh In an offseason full of under the radar moves by the Steelers, Patterson may be the most underrated. Though the moves to reinforce the wide receiver, quarterback and cornerback rooms with boom or bust talent is important, special teams is the phase of the game that affects field position more than anything else.
Having a player like Patterson who can flip the field in an instant, makes him one of the most impactful player on the Steelers this season. Patterson was drafted with the 29th pick of the 2013 NFL Draft to be a receiver for the Minnesota Vikings. He never quite panned out as the receiver he was expected to be, but became one of the best return men since Hall of Famer Devin Hester.
Patterson has nine total touchdowns off of kick returns, and has amassed just under 8,000 return yards in his career. He has the versatility to play running back like he did under Arthur Smith with the Atlanta Falcons, but the Steelers want him returning kicks, not taking handoffs. With the new kickoff rules that will require a lot of creativity, having a swiss army knife in Patterson is a luxury most teams don't have.
Given his age, it'll be interesting to see if he can get used to the change quickly. If he can, the Steelers effectiveness in special teams will be reignited in a hurry, and provide a blueprint for the future should the rule change remain in affect beyond 2024. This article first appeared on SteelerNation.
com and was syndicated with permission..
