One of the most critical plays in the Cincinnati Bengals’ Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers was the muffed punt by return specialist Ke’Shawn Williams in the fourth quarter.
Williams primary job on the team is to ensure he secures the football when he’s returning punts or kicks. He failed in doing so, and it cost the Bengals three points as the Steelers received the ball inside the 20-yard line and kicked a field goal to tie the game 27-27.
Bengals returner Ke'Shawn Williams just muffed the punt.
— Joey DeBerardino (@JoeyDeBerardino) September 27, 2026
Extremely costly mistake and the Steelers recover deep in Bengals territory. pic.twitter.com/pNR7hB8d6X
His job status for Cincinnati’s upcoming game against the Jacksonville Jaguars (1 p.m., Oct. 4) is now in question. Bengals coach Zac Taylor was
non-committal when asked about Williams’ role moving forward.“We’ll see what we decide to do there,” Taylor said Sept. 28. “I’m not at that decision today on exactly what that’s going to look like, but that’s a conversation we’ll have.”
Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons and Taylor will ultimately choose between giving Williams a chance to redeem himself or ask Dohnte Meyers to take on more responsibility in the return game.
The injuries at wide receiver will play a role in Taylor’s decision. Meyers was the primary returner in Week 1 when Cincinnati had all of its options available. With Andrei Iosivas and Colbie Young dealing with injuries and already ruled out against the Jaguars, it means Meyers has a bigger role in the passing game.
It’s why this decision has layers to it. If the Bengals put Meyers back to return all game and he suffers an injury, it could significantly impact the offense. Whether Meyers' role is as the No. 3 wide receiver or the starting returner, he'll need to be ready to deliver.
"If that's his role on our team is to be the starting returner, whether it be a punt return or kickoff returner, then that to me is just as important as him being the third receiver," Simmons said. "And we'll approach it that way because we can see what happens if things go awry. I mean, it could potentially change the game, and we certainly don't want that to happen."
There’s also the notion of how many reps is too many for a player like Meyers in this scenario. Meyers’ best trait is his explosion after the catch, and if he’s taking on too much responsibility in the kick/punt return game, it could hinder what he’s able to do on offense.
The Bengals (2-1) could also not be ready to give up on Williams yet. They kept him on the roster over Charlie Jones for a reason. He can’t make a mistake again like he did in Pittsburgh, but they also don’t want to disregard all the times he’s done his job at a high level.
It’s a delicate balance, according to Simmons. The Bengals will use the rest of the week to decide who the primary returner will be in Week 4.
"It's something I'm always very sensitive to because you never want to take a player's stinger away, and yet at the same time, we have a bigger responsibility,” Simmons said. “It's the responsibility of putting our team in the best situation to win, and so that's something we'll have to talk through throughout this week and see what we feel like's the best way to go.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Are the Bengals planning to make a change at kick/punt returner?
