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: Jordan Dangerfield
Position: Safety
Experience: 2 Years
Every time I write about Jordan Dangerfield and have to mention his accrued seasons it strikes me as odd that he technically is only going to be a third-year player heading into 2019, even though he was originally an undrafted free agent over five years ago.
Though they haven’t always shown it, bouncing him on and off the practice squad over the years or even cutting him in the spring, the Steelers have always liked Dangerfield and what he can bring to the table, even if it might be relatively limited in terms of coverage.
After a couple summers of racking up tackles in the preseason and in padded practices, he finally made the 53-man roster in 2016, spending every game there and even starting two games while Robert Golden was injured and Sean Davis had not yet been moved to safety full-time.
A late injury suffered in the preseason in 2017 pretty much conspired to render him to the practice squad in 2017, as it, and other injuries, seemed to prompt the Steelers to make a trade for J.J. Wilcox, so once that move was made, when Dangerfield recovered and got healthy, they didn’t have a spot for him on the 53.
But they turned over most of the safety position in 2018—pretty much everyone but him and Davis—and found not just a spot, but a minor defensive role, as he started being used as a heavy defensive back in a 3-4 front, replacing a cornerback to counter run looks with one or fewer receivers on the field.
Depending on how the team addresses safety in 2019, I think there’s a good chance he will continue to be on the roster. Given that they haven’t done so yet, I don’t think we can guaranteed that they will release Morgan Burnett, and they like Marcus Allen, so it might be difficult, however. Of course Terrell Edmunds isn’t going anywhere.
