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: Stefen Wisniewski
Position: iOL
Experience: 10 Years
A former second-round pick all the way back in 2011, Stefen Wisniewsk is an area native whom the Steelers had looked into signing multiple times over the years, even bringing him in for a free agency visit in 2015 or 2016, though he left without signing—and ended up with the Philadelphia Eagles instead.
Though he is quite experienced, with over 100 starts in his career, he has come to be looked primarily as a backup at this point in his career and an emergency starter. The Steeler signed him on the cheap for a two-year pact last offseason in order to come in and compete at left guard and serve as depth otherwise.
In part due to the pandemic stripping away most of the in-person offseason activities, the Steelers felt more comfortable moving ahead with Matt Feiler at left guard, so Wisniewski entered the year as a backup without much competition.
Due to an injury suffered by David DeCastro, however, he ultimately ended up starting the only game he would ever play in a Steelers uniform. He played at right guard in the season opener before suffering a pectoral injury in the late stages of the game.
That injury left him on the Reserve/Injured List for nearly two months, activated on November 4, but he was released just three days later as the Steelers signed a couple of linebackers to address depth issues there.
The team ultimately grew confident in the interior depth that they had in Kevin Dotson and J.C. Hassenauer, between the two of whom they would record eight starts in 2020. Yet they could use another player like Wisniewski to provide depth along the line this offseason.
