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: Danny Isidora
Position: OL
Experience: 4 Years
A former fifth-round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, Danny Isidora has never carved out a starting job for himself in the NFL, but he has done enough to carve out some playing time on occasion, nearing 500 career offensive snaps since entering the league four years ago.
Something of a journeyman by the time he came to the Steelers serving previous stints with the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs, he came to Pittsburgh with one job, which was to serve as depth. Signed in the middle of December after Matt Feiler and Kevin Dotson were injured, he was on the 53-man roster for four games plus the postseason, dressing only once and logging no snaps.
That’s not the most remarkable story ever told, to be sure, but that doesn’t mean the Steelers won’t be interested in keeping him. It would not be the first time that a player crawled his way onto the back end of the roster or the practice squad late one season only to become a regular years later. It happened with a little engine that could known as Mike Hilton.
Of course, if the Steelers look to bring back Isidora, it would be purely for a depth role. He is a guard-exclusive player, and the Steelers already have their starting guards in the former of David DeCastro and, presumably, Kevin Dotson, though failing that, it would indicate that they re-signed Matt Feiler.
With the team’s expected free agency losses along the offensive line, not to mention a major retirement, they are in a position they haven’t been in for a while: with a need to replenish their depth. It doesn’t help that they’ve lost in recent years Fred Johnson, Patrick Morris, and Derwin Gray on the waiver wire, and B.J. Finney to free agency, though he is available again.
