The Steelers think Quadree Henderson is a special kind of player — a player special enough that they may make sure to find room on the 53-man roster even though his skill set is kind of, well, specialized.
They think Henderson is special. They think he can fill the need of both kick and punt returners. They think he can be a difference-maker with a team that has been on the doorstep of the Super Bowl the past couple years.
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They think this because they’ve yet to see anything out of the undrafted rookie free agent through the first month of training camp and two preseason games to suggest that Henderson’s collegiate career can be transferred over to the pros.
Through two games, Henderson has averaged 13.5 yards for his two kick returns. He has yet to return a punt, which is nowhere near “special” and something that special teams coach Danny Smith won’t fight for on roster cut-down day.
“If a returner is special we fight for him and see where he fits and hopefully he can do something else,” Smith said.
The Steelers will take kick and punt returns from Henderson and not worry about the other stuff he did at Pitt — end arounds, jets sweeps, and screens he turned into big plays that made him an All-American. They have lacked in the kickoff return game for some time now and are looking to find a remedy.
There still is the option to rely on Antonio Brown to step back and return a punt or two in a critical situation but with Brown hurting his calf late last year and a quad injury which hampered him for a little more than a week during training camp.
However, they would love to get away from Brown having anything do with special teams.
If that means a return specialist then so be it.
Right now, Henderson and Justin Thomas have been the only two returning punts for the majority of camp. They have been joined by Cam Sutton and others on kickoff returns. The depth chart still has JuJu Smith-Schuster and Brown as the starting kick and punter returners, respectively, but that’s the last resort.
Mike Tomlin has never hesitated about keeping one of those special returners, or one they viewed as special, on his roster over his 11 years as head coach.
They drafted Dri Archer in 2014 and Chris Rainey two years before that. Midway through the season in 2015, he signed Jacoby Jones. In 2007, his first year with the Steelers, Tomlin traded for Allen Rossum.
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All were busts.
But there was one very memorable occasion of an unknown kick returner making the most out of his opportunities. In 2009, a CFLer named Stefan Logan had one chance and took advantage of it.
“I committed a half of play to him in D.C. for a preseason game, and he returned every kick beyond the 50-yard line and onto our football team,” Tomlin said on Tuesday. “The next week he earned another opportunity, and he ran a punt back on the first play of the game.”
Logan averaged 40 yards on four kicks that day with a long of 60. Two weeks later, he took the first punt of the game back 80 yards for the score. When cut downs came a few days later, Logan didn’t get the call.
“The opportunities are scarce but I can cite example after example, and they will be given a similar opportunity,” Tomlin said. “But it’s been done before by many people over time and in this city and on this team.”
Henderson is going to need one of those Stefan Logan moments during one of the final two preseason games. The Steelers host the Titans at Heinz Field on Saturday before closing up the preseason a couple of days later against the Panthers.
“I definitely feel like I need one,” Henderson said. “I haven’t gotten many opportunities, but I need one to show the coaches that I can flip the field for our offense. They know I can make plays. They know I can flip the field position no matter what the situation is in the game.”
This year, there may be more opportunities, especially on kick returns, than ever before.
The league modified their kickoff rules to limit some of the violent collisions associated with playing special teams.
“The new rules are a big benefit because of the open space,” Henderson said. “Everything to me is like a punt return to me once you get into space.”
Players on the kicking team cannot line up more than one yard from the point of the kickoff. The previous rule allowed players to line up five yards from the restraining line (typically the 35-yard line), allowing them to have more of a running start before the kick. Eight of the 11 defenders have to be within 15 yards on the ball as well.
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That allows a whole heck of a lot of space for a kick returner.
“There is so much space, it’s unbelievable,” Smith said. “Everybody is talking about the kickoff. I don’t think the kickoff is going to be that big of a change for me. But the kickoff return is huge.”
The Steelers are using the preseason to figure out what’s the best ways to combat the new rules. It could be pooching it to the dead zones, or it could be a normal mode of operation of kicking it as deep as you can.
While teams are trying to figure out what to do during the preseason, it has somewhat limited Henderson’s opportunities.
“They want to get different looks with kickoff coverage and different places to put the ball,” Henderson said. “It has been missed opportunities, but when I get that chance, I have to take advantage of it. I am a dangerous return man so when I get the ball in my hand, I can definitely make plays. This Saturday is another opportunity coming so we are just going to have to wait and see.”
Henderson was a dynamic returner during his three years at Pitt. He had seven kick or punt return for touchdowns including four at Heinz Field. Henderson averaged 26 yards per kick and 13 per punt return while with the Panthers.
But Henderson’s small stature got him pigeonholed as a pure specialist only.
Smith said that the Steelers’ roster is flexible enough to have a guy who only returns kicks and punts but again, he has to be special.
“The thing about that is that I’m with everybody else on that,” Smith said. “We need the extra DB because whose covering kicks? I need the extra wideout, I need the extra linebacker. He’s going to have to shine in a game. You can judge these guys by catching the ball or their balance by catching the ball. You can evaluate some of those things, but it’s never real until you do it in the game.”
Henderson figures he knows what it is going to take over the next week to make this team and it just might have to be more than what Logan did eight years ago.
“I definitely think a touchdown or two would do it,” Henderson said.
(Photo credit: Philip G. Pavely-USA TODAY Sports)
