The Pittsburgh Steelers' win on Sunday in Tampa Bay was the first road victory for Head Coach Mike McCarthy in his tenure with the team. Their late comeback that ultimately resulted in an overtime win proved some resiliency in the team. Return specialist Kaden Wetjen has had a rough start to his NFL career in Pittsburgh; however, he had some nice returns on Sunday that helped the team and suggest he is on the right track in his rookie season. He was exceptional in his final two collegiate seasons as he earned back-to-back Johnny "The Jet" Awards, given to the best return specialist in the nation each year.
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Pittsburgh Steelers return specialist Kaden Wetjen (10) during 2026 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
On 10 punt returns so far in 2026, the former Iowa return specialist has gone for just 6.9 yards per return. On 23 kickoff returns, he has put up an average of 23.1 yards per return. Those averages are noticeably lower compared to his final two seasons as a Hawkeye.
On Monday, team insider Jim Wexell held an episode of his Steel City Insider podcast to recap the game and discuss the victory. During the episode, Pittsburgh's kick returner was mentioned, among other rookies. While discussing his first year in the NFL, Wexell was not shy to defend the rookie and let people know there are things in his game he has liked so far.
“I think [Kaden Wetjen has] got it as a punt returner,” Wexell said. “I’m waiting for his redemption. I think he makes great decisions for a rookie. He’s got a lot of courage. He handles the ball well. I hope he’s patient and continues with his resiliency. Because I think he’s going to break it.”
General Manager Omar Khan and the organization put a lot of stock in Wetjen, as they used a fourth-round pick on him in the 2026 NFL Draft, so the front office needs to see him start to turn a corner. One thing that really holds true with Wexell's comments is Wetjen's ability to take care of the football. So far this year, he has not fumbled the ball on any of his returns in the regular season.
The one encouraging sign to his returns in Sunday's game in Tampa Bay is it was his second-best game thus far in yards per return this year. In Week 1, he had an average of 27 yards per return on kickoffs. In Sunday's game he had 26.3 yards per return, with the longest return going for 29 yards, which is his longest kickoff return so far in his first season. The return game to this point has been a noticeable struggle, but Wetjen has been consistent at taking care of the football and may be starting to turn a corner.
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Last week, new special teams coordinator Danny Crossman admitted that he has seen improvement from his unit, but it still was not fully coming together and on display on Sundays. Crossman has been in the league since the 2003 NFL season, whereas his return specialist is experiencing his first-ever game action at the NFL level. If he can start to get the full potential out of his rookie return specialist, it adds an element to the game where the Steelers have another way to attack their opponents on Sundays.
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Steelers returner Kaden Wetjen runs with the ball on a return in Week 5 of the 2026 NFL season against the Indianapolis Colts.
Despite the numbers being lower on returns compared to his college career, the rookie does do a great job so far of taking care of the football so it does not create big opportunities for opponents. Sunday showed that McCarthy's group has the resiliency in them to fight back into games where they struggle for the majority of it. If Wetjen is able to break out of the funk he is in so far as a rookie, that gives them another way to get points on the board and really make this team dangerous.
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