The Pittsburgh Steelers sent wide receiver Quez Watkins out as their first punt returner in the preseason opener against the Houston Texans and the Southern Miss product had a rough night.
Watkins' first attempt was marred by a bad fair catch, but things got even worse on his second try, when he misplayed the ball, had to backtrack, and then dropped the punt, leading to a turnover that gave Houston the ball at the Steelers' 28-yard line.
Just six plays later, the Texans capitalized on a four-yard touchdown run by running back Dare Ogunbowale, giving Houston a 14-0 lead in the second quarter.
Watkins entered the contest never having returned a punt in a game during his career, so his struggles weren't exactly shocking. The former Philadelphia Eagles wideout's only experience with returns came on kickoffs, where he has 14 over four seasons.
The muff by Quez Watkins #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/Scfy5v7DWy
— Steelers Depot 7⃣ (@Steelersdepot) August 9, 2024
Safe to say, Watkins better forget about a role as a punt returner after his disastrous showing in preseason Week 1 and should put all of his focus on trying to earn a role as a pass-catcher moving forward.
Steelers fans were frustrated to say the least and are done with the Watkins experiment in the return game.
Ok, that's enough out of Quez Watkins on punts. One bad fair catch and one muffed punt. Time to pull the plug. #Steelers
— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) August 9, 2024
Quez Watkins just lost the punt return job.
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) August 9, 2024
Quez Watkins in approximately 3 hours from now. pic.twitter.com/iOpzOcGEjO
— PWszn(10-7) (@PutridLobster) August 9, 2024
Cut Quez Watkins tonight.#HereWeGo #Steelers
— Jack Sperry (@jack_sperry) August 10, 2024
pic.twitter.com/IhFXp5JdsN
Quez Watkins as a punt returner. *Crosses name off the list*
— Steelers Network (@SteelersNetwork) August 9, 2024