After his massive kickoff blunder in the Week 2 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson has been in the dog house.
Johnson was stripped of his return duties for Week 3, leaving him with no role. The Steelers did ultimately dress Johnson, but he didn't see the field at all.
“Sometimes, when you have mistakes, you gotta take a step back," Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of Johnson last week." But I’ve been pleased with his approach to business and work.
"I think he’s positioned himself to be a contributor this week. But certainly, those decisions don’t happen in a vacuum…. But he certainly won’t be back there on kickoff returns,” Tomlin concluded.
It looks like nothing will change for Johnson this week, as the Steelers announced on Saturday that running back Trey Sermon has been elevated from the practice squad.
Sermon was the Steelers' replacement for Johnson last week, although he didn't end up returning any kicks. Fellow running back Kenneth Gainwell had the Steelers' lone kickoff return in the 21-14 win over the New England Patriots.
On the surface, it would make sense to keep Johnson inactive, as there's no sense in dressing a fourth running back who won't play.
However, given running back Jaylen Warren's questionable status, Pittsburgh might opt to have a fourth running back active once again.
As for Johnson, this is a disastrous start to his career, but it's still way too early to proclaim him a bust.
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