The Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex earlier than they had anticipated, having been ousted from the postseason in the opening round, which unfortunately marks a slight improvement from the past two seasons, during which they did not even qualify for the playoffs altogether. They have now done four seasons without securing a victory beyond regular season play.
Yet again, they find themselves undergoing the exit meeting process earlier than anticipated, which means so are we.
They did manage to go 12-4 during the regular season, and secured their first AFC North title since 2017, posting a new franchise record by opening the season with 11 consecutive wins, but of course it all fell apart after that. Their only victory after that required a 17-point comeback.
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 2020 season.
Player: Chris Wormley
Position: DL
Experience: 4 Years
Chris Wormley was brought in to serve as veteran depth in 2020, acquired (along with a seventh-round draft pick via trade from the Baltimore Ravens in exchange for a selection in the fifth round. One could more than fairly argue that they didn’t get the appropriate worth out of him, but that doesn’t fall entirely at the player’s feet.
One issue that the Steelers have is simply getting either Cameron Heyward or Stephon Tuitt off the field. Every offseason, they talk about rotating more. It never really comes to fruition, whether they have depth or not.
And Wormley is a capable five- and three-tech, as evidenced by his time in Baltimore, during which he logged over 400 snaps in each of the two seasons he played for the Ravens prior to his being trades. He was certainly capable of being asked to do more.
Of course, the one window that he did have when Stephon Tuitt missed time with Covid-19, he just so happened to be down with an injury of his own, so he missed out on some of his best opportunities to get playing time during the year.
When he was on the field, however, for the most part he seemed to be up to the task. He had a familiarity of what was asked of him and played disciplined and sound football. His lack of opportunities, however, will probably hurt his value as he enters the free agency market next week at the start of the new league year. Which could help the Steelers retain him on the cheap.
