Former Steelers QB Kordell Stewart Tells Revealing Story About The Origin Of Him Playing Receiver

The Pittsburgh Steelers struggled to find a franchise quarterback between the time of Terry Bradshaw's retirement following the 1983 season, and the night of the 2004 NFL Draft when the organization selected Ben Roethlisberger with the 11th overall pick. The closest Pittsburgh ever got was with Kordell Stewart, who they drafted in the second round of the 1995 NFL Draft. Stewart had an interesting career, which started off with him catching balls rather than throwing them.

Neil O'Donnell had started the majority of the Steelers games at quarterback from 1991 through the 1994 season, and that wasn't going to change just because Pittsburgh drafted Stewart with the 60th overall pick. During Stewart's rookie season in 1995, he did a little bit of everything, including play receiver when the team needed him to. He spoke about how he became a receiving option for Pittsburgh when he sat down for a recent interview with the Steelers. 

"I'm warming up with Neil [O'Donnell] catching the ball. I'm beating Darren Perry in practice, I'm beating Carnell Lake, I'm beating Rod Woodson, I'm beating Willie Williams. All the guys, Greg Lloyd - whoever lined up in front of me. Until it gets to a point where Neil says, 'Would you want to play wide receiver?' And I was like, man I don't care. I don't want to sit on the sideline with no khaki shorts on holding the clipboard all day."

The person that came up with the original idea for Stewart to split out wide and catch balls came from his competition in the quarterback room. The idea was then brought to the coaching staff, who must have agreed that it was a good idea, as Stewart caught 14 passes on 20 targets during his rookie season for 235 yards and a touchdown.

This was the start of Stewart changing the game in the NFL. He was such an athlete, it didn't matter where you lined him up. He was a pioneer when it came to mobile quarterbacks who could run the ball effectively and with explosiveness. Stewart recalled his first gadget play with Pittsburgh, which involved him playing quarterback, while O'Donnell distracted the defense out wide. It came in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. 

"Coach [Bill] Cowher I guess came up with this one play against Jacksonville, it's like third and 17. They have three receivers to the side and Yancey [Thigpen] and Neil O'Donnell are lined up on the outside. Very first play was a quarterback draw, and at this time, they didn't have a spy, it was just straight Cover 2. 'Who's going to cover 14? Who's covering Neil?' And I'm sitting there smiling. So I get the snap, and got like a 20-yard gain on third down."

Pittsburgh always found a way to use Stewart's athleticism to their advantage, even when he wasn't the team's starting quarterback. He would end up finishing his time in Pittsburgh with 41 receptions for over 650 yards and 5 touchdowns. He also rushed for 35 touchdowns and over 2,500 yards as a Steeler, which still has him in the top 20 on the quarterback career rushing yards leaderboard. 

Steelers Could Use Kordell Stewart As Inspiration In 2024

Pittsburgh finds themselves in a similar situation to the 1995 season. They have an older quarterback in Russell Wilson, who should definitely be the front runner to start for the majority of the season. However, they also have one of the best athletes at the quarterback position as his backup, Justin Fields. 

Fields could be used in similar packages that Stewart was, even if it is just as a decoy. The defense will be forced to pay attention to him if he is on the field unit because he is a threat to throw the ball, and he also has a knack for breaking off long runs. The longest run of Fields' career went for 67 yards, and he rushed for over 1,100 yards during the 2022 season. It would be a shame to keep him cooped up on the sideline as a backup all year long, rather than utilizing his athleticism.