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: Derwin Gray
Position: OL
Experience: 1 Year
A seventh-round draft pick out of Maryland in 2019, Derwin Gray was a senior coming off of injury when he was selected, and last offseason, he admitted that it was probably for the best that he spent his rookie year on the practice squad in order to fully get right.
With that being said, he still did not make the initial 53-man roster, but was on the practice squad, and he was called up after one game after the Steelers lost two linemen due to injury, with a pectoral tear suffered by Stefen Wisniewski triggering his promotion.
Gray would spend the vast majority of the season on the 53-man roster, ultimately dressing for five games, though most often he was the inactive ninth man. He got the opportunity to play at the tail end of a couple of blowouts, amassing a total of 25 snaps, plus another 11 on special teams. Though a small sample size, he did have some good reps.
Due to a mass of injuries and illness at the inside linebacker position, however, the Steelers needed to make room for Tegray Scales after he had already been elevated twice from the practice squad, and Gray as the ninth lineman was chosen as the low man on the totem pole.
No doubt the team intended to re-sign him to the practice squad, but instead he would be claimed off of waivers by the Jacksonville Jaguars. He was the third lineman the Steelers lost to waivers since 2019, with Fred Johnson and Patrick Morris. He remains a part of their 53-man roster.
