Justin Fields addressed the rumors that the Steelers were considering using him as a return man this season.

Earlier this month, Steelers running back Jaylen Warren surprised teammate Cam Heyward when he said on Heyward’s podcast that special teams coordinator Danny Smith broached the idea of Fields as a returner.

This week, Fields explained that the coach’s words got misconstrued in a metaphorical game of telephone.

“Nah, I think everybody kind of interpreted it wrong,” Fields said, as covered by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Coach Danny was basically just trying to send a message that no matter who you are, you could be on special teams. He just used that as an example.

“It’s funny how serious social media takes everything. It was kind of funny to me when everybody was making a big deal about it for no reason.”

The story got legs when Heyward asked Warren if the new NFL kickoff rules would make him want to consider returning kicks, and he laughingly brought up Fields.

“Our special teams coordinator was talking about Justin Fields being back there,” Warren said at the time. “We were like hold up, hold up. We were like, ‘Justin Fields back there?’ I don’t know, I think it’s cool.”

The Bears traded Fields to the Steelers for a conditional sixth-round pick in March.

It was a relatively stunning move, as Pittsburgh had previously signed quarterback Russell Wilson this offseason after Wilson was released by the Broncos.

Shortly after Fields was acquired, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that Wilson had “pole position” for the starting job but that Fields would be competing for it.

Reading between the lines, one would expect Wilson to be the Week 1 starter if healthy — but to be on a short leash.