If you watched the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season opener without any other context about the roster beforehand, you would have assumed rookie John Rhys Plumlee was a wide receiver. Or maybe a running back. Or a converted H-back looking to succeed at a new position.
Plumlee is a quarterback. At least in the rankings. Against the Houston Texans, he was everything else.
The answer to a trivia question 10 years from now will be Plumlee. The question – who was the first Pittsburgh Steeler to return a kick under the new NFL rules? Plumlee, backed by RB Jonathan Ward, carried the opening kickoff 19 yards to the Steelers’ 23-yard line. This may have been the first time in team history that a quarterback returned a kickoff.
The return would have been better if CB Darius Rush had not been blown up while attempting to block and thrown for the tackle against Plumlee.
Plumlee, like he did in training camp, is still not wearing gloves and may be the only returning player not wearing any this weekend. This is likely because he doesn’t wear gloves as a quarterback and changing them might be inconvenient.
He had a more successful return later in the half, a 28-yard runback where he drifted right and found space. The return to the 27 was negated by a block from Ryan Watts in the back, but otherwise it was a nice return.
But my favorite moment from him came late in the game. And for me personally, it was a shock. Plumlee not only served as a personal protector/up back on the punt coverage team, but also as the quarterback of the unit and role that Miles Killebrew will take over once the season begins. Plumlee ran and made the tackle.
A rookie quarterback makes a tackle on the punt team late in the fourth quarter. God bless the preseason of football.
His teammates noticed, too, with players and one of the coaches making a big fuss over him on the sidelines. During training camp, I never saw Plumlee work on the punt coverage team. On the kick return team, sure, and I expected him to be a starting returner in this game. Perhaps S Nate Meadors’ injury late in training camp changed things. At Wednesday’s practice, Meadors was the starting back, but suffered a hamstring injury later in the day. Despite that, RB Aaron Shampklin worked as a second teamer but didn’t get the nod in the game, at least not here.
The only thing that felt like Plumlee not actually play quarterback. Kyle Allen replaced Justin Fields after three series and exited the game after recovering from a rough start. It was Allen who started two drives late in the fourth quarter, moments when it would have been logical to use Plumlee. But Allen is a veteran, and Pittsburgh is trusting him with more control in hopes of getting a clearer assessment of the offense and more reps to watch. Plumlee’s practice sessions were limited this week, and his two-minute drive in practice was unsuccessful.
If you’re wondering why Plumlee is getting all these unique opportunities, it’s because he has an athletic background. He was a multi-sport star in college and played his entire college football career as a baseball. And he played more than one full season as a wide receiver at Ole Miss after initially being signed as a quarterback. He returned to quarterback when he transferred to the University of Central Florida to finish out his college days.
Plumlee is in a situation most quarterbacks aren’t in. It’s really like Taysom Hill. But as a fourth-string quarterback fighting for reps and trying to stay on the team, you have to do whatever you can to add value. If he were the “normal” fourth-string quarterback, he would have held the clipboard the entire game and done nothing to serve his cause. Here Plumlee is fighting for a spot on the practice squad, where he could provide valuable insight to the scout team and wear many hats. His future is uncertain, but he’s a guy it’s easy to root for.
