The Pittsburgh Steelers have a major set challenges facing them for the offseason of 2019 after they managed to miss the postseason for the first time in five years. The failure has been taken especially grievously because of the fact that the team was in position to control their own fate even for homefield advantage with six games remaining before dropping four games.
And so they find themselves getting the exit meeting process underway at least two weeks earlier than they have had to in years, since they have made it to at least the Divisional Round since 2015. Hopefully they used those extra two weeks with purpose.
While we might not know all the details about what goes on between Head Coach Mike Tomlin and his players during these exit meetings, we do know how we would conduct those meetings if they were let up to us. So here are the Depot’s exit meetings for the Steelers’ roster following the 2018 season.
Player: B.J. Finney
Position: Offensive Line
Experience: 3 Years
2018 saw the least amount of playing time for B.J. Finney since he made the jump from practice squad player to backup lineman on the 53-man roster. He made just two starts, and these came at right guard in place of David DeCastro, who suffered a hand injury in the season opener and missed the next two games, his first significant injury since 2013.
The majority of Finney’s previous starts came at left guard, filling in for Ramon Foster, who had in recent years been good for missing two to four games per season with minor injuries. Yet in spite of the fact that he suffered a significant ankle sprain in training camp, he didn’t miss a meaningful snap all season, if I recall correctly.
His first start at right guard is also the first start he’s made in which the Steelers lost, but it wasn’t because of him, or even because of the offense, which put up over 30 points. The only problem is that they were facing the Kansas City Chiefs, and also doing so before there was a ton of background on Patrick Mahomes, the league MVP.
Entering his fourth NFL season, Finney has now made at least two starts at all three interior offensive line positions—and even played as a tackle-eligible back in 2017—playing for a team that believes in him as capable of being a starter.
Nevertheless, the decision has to be made whether or not to re-sign Foster. The team appears motivated to do so, but it’s still possible that the 33-year-old could price himself out of their range.
Should that ultimately be the case, the Steelers won’t bat an eye turning the left guard position over to Finney, though it would likely mean they would have to acquire another interior reserve lineman, and one that was very comfortable playing center.
