Antwaan Randle El is officially returning to the place where he once threw a touchdown pass in a Super Bowl.
Yes, Jerome Bettis may be from Detroit (if you hadn’t heard), but Randle El owned the town (at least for a moment) on February 5, 2006, when he helped cement a Super Bowl XL win for the Steelers with a 43-yard touchdown pass on a gadget play to Hines Ward, the eventual MVP of the game.
Randle El officially has joined the Lions as the team’s new receivers coach.
A former quarterback at Indiana, Randle El entered the league as a second-round pick in 2002. Now 41, Randle El spent nine years in the NFL, with Pittsburgh and Washington.
He returned to the NFL in 2019, as assistant receivers coach with the Buccaneers. Fresh from winning a second Super Bowl ring with the Bucs, Randle El gets a promotion with the Lions.
Randle El actually capped his playing career with a Super Bowl appearance, in a final season with the Steelers. He caught two passes for 50 yards and scored a two-point conversion in a 31-25 loss to the Packers.
Five years ago, Randle El expressed regret regarding his decision to play football in comments to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, citing memory problems. He then said his remarks were overblown during an appearance with Dan Patrick.