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: Chris Boswell
Position: Kicker
Experience: 4 Years
Well…I think it’s safe to say that the 2018 season did not go as Chris Boswell thought it would. Coming off a Pro Bowl season in which he was one of the most accurate kickers in the league, made all four of his attempts from 50 yards or beyond, and nailed all five of his go-ahead field goals in the final minute—more often, final seconds—give wrap up Steelers leads, Boswell legitimately tanked, starting from the season opener, to have one of the worst seasons by a kicker who wasn’t fired mid-season that can be recalled in recent memory.
He missed an absolutely astonishing 12 total kicks on 68 total attempts, including seven of his 20 field goal attempts and five of his 48 point after tries. His 89.6 percent success rate on point after attempts is reminiscent of the 70s, quite frankly.
As mentioned, it all started in the season opener when Boswell had a 42-yard attempt from the right hash mark in overtime to claim a victory for the Steelers, which should have been nothing for him. But he hooked the ball, preserving a tie that would remain, only because T.J. Watt would go on to block the Brown’s would-be game-winning attempt.
After the game, he did not speak to reporters and during the week was found practicing on his own in an inside facility, replaying that 42-yard kick from the right hash mark. Unfortunately it did not get better from there, as he would miss three field goals in total in four attempts in his first three games.
He seemed to settle down after that, making nine or 10 in a row, but then would miss four in a four-game stretch in which the team went 1-3. That included him slipping on a potential game-tying field goal at the end of the Raiders game.
He would ultimately be injured late in the season and finish the year on injured reserve after he was retained follow a mid-season tryout in which his job was under threat. This offseason, it’s believed that the team asked him to push back the date of his roster bonus, presumably under the threat of being released, so that he could compete for his job this summer without them having to pay him an unnecessary $2.5 million if he is not going to be on the team.
