The Pittsburgh Steelers ended the 2019 season much as they did the 2018 season, by allowing their playoff fate slip out of their grasp. Slow starts and slow finishes permeated both campaigns, with strong runs in between. But while the results were the same missing the playoffs, the means were quite different.
Yet again, they find themselves undergoing the exit meeting process earlier than anticipated, which means so are we. But that they still managed to go 8-8 without Ben Roethlisberger, and with the general quality of play that they faced along the way, I suppose things could have been worse.
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: Quadree Henderson
Position: WR
Experience: 1 Year
Of the remaining players left to cover, Quadree Henderson is the player you are most likely to be familiar with, so I will begin with him. He is only of only a couple of the remaining players who has spent any amount of time on a 53-man roster, and none of those players have been active for a game for the Steelers.
A product of Pittsburgh (the university, though born in Wilmington, Delaware), Quadree Henderson was originally signed by the Steelers as a college free agent in 2018. He spent the entire offseason with the team, but did not make the final cut, nor was he signed to the practice squad. Tevin Jones and Trey Griffey were chosen over him.
He would remain a street free agent until the New York Giants signed him to their practice squad a month into the season, promoted to the 53-man roster a few weeks later. He would ultimately dress for five games, playing 26 snaps and serving as a return man.
During his time with the Giants, Henderson recorded 68 yards on nine punt returns for a 7.6-yard average and 112 yards on five kick returns for an average of 22.4 yards. Given the circumstances, being brought in midseason, it’s hard to judge these numbers.
He finished the 2018 season on injured reserve, and would later bounce around between the Jets, Jaguars, and Panthers before the Steelers finally signed him to their practice squad in the middle of November.
This was in the midst of a shakeup at the position, as they also signed Amara Darboh to the practice squad and signed Deon Cain to the 53-man roster, releasing Terry Wright from the practice squad, after Ryan Switzer was put on injured reserve and Jones was promoted to the 53-man roster.
Darboh would eventually replace Jones on the 53-man roster, though both he and Henderson would be retained, the latter signing a futures contract. It’s possible there could be an opening for him, especially as a return man, as Switzer’s roster spot may be in jeopardy.
