Mike Tomlin Has Telling Comment On Rookie’s Role After Blunder

There were multiple reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers lost in Week 2 vs. the Seattle Seahawks.

The loaded defense underperformed for the second game in a row and quarterback Aaron Rodgers tossed two interceptions.

One of the biggest turning points came in the fourth quarter when rookie running back Kaleb Johnson had a massive mental mistake on a kickoff.

With the Steelers trailing 17-14, the third-round pick was back waiting to field Seattle’s kick when the ball bounced in front of him and hopped into the end zone. Instead of rushing to pick it up, Johnson watched the ball, allowing the Seahawks to recover the kick in the end zone for a touchdown.

Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin was asked on Tuesday about the Iowa product’s role moving forward.

“Will Kaleb Johnson still return kickoffs? Mike Tomlin: ‘Probably not in the short term,'” NFL insider Andrew Siciliano posted on Bluesky.

Will Kaleb Johnson still return kickoffs?Mike Tomlin: "Probably not in the short term."

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— Andrew Siciliano (@andrewsiciliano.bsky.social) 2025-09-16T16:16:44.370Z

Johnson has had minimal production in Pittsburgh’s backfield through the first two games of his NFL career, recording two carries for -1 yard. He’s added eight kickoff returns for 190 yards, though he may not get another chance in that department for a while.

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