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: Kameron Canaday
Position: Long Snapper
Experience: 2 Years
To never hear your name called when you are the long snapper is pretty close to the ideal. While you might make the occasional tackle, and if you’re really lucky, recover a fumble or two, it’s the position arguably more than any other in which the best way to tell if they are doing their job is to pretty much have no acknowledgement of your existence.
That wasn’t entirely the case for Kameron Canaday in his second season with the Steelers. While he didn’t shank any snaps, he did draw a few penalties, which isn’t the easiest thing in the world to even do when you’re a long snapper, a position that often isn’t even blocked.
It also can’t entirely be dismissed that both Chris Boswell and Jordan Berry had sub-par seasons in 2018, based both on league-wide criteria and upon their own norms. Boswell of course completely tanked, but only so much of that—very little, admittedly—can fall at the long snapper’s feet.
With all that being said, Canaday did his job, and it’s the furthest thing from a shock that the Steelers retained him this offseason as an exclusive rights free agent. It will get more interesting, however, in 2020 when he will be a restricted free agent, at which point they would have to make the determination whether or not his play lends itself to that of a viable long-term fixture.
Because that is exact what they had for a long time in Greg Warren, whose only absences were due to injury. Canaday has the opportunity to be the next long-term player at the position, but I think he has to show more before the team will be comfortable letting him walk unchecked into that role when a higher salary is demanded.
