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 gone 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. They posted 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.
We might not know all the details about what goes on between head coach Mike Tomlin and his players during these exit meetings. But we do know how we would conduct those meetings if they were up to us. So here are the Depot’s exit meetings for the Steelers’ roster following the 2020 season.
Player: Demarcus Christmas
Position: DL
Experience: 1 Year
Defensive lineman Demarcus Christmas was a sixth-round selection of the Seattle Seahawks in 2019. He spent the entirety of his rookie season on the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List for Seattle. Doing so earned him an accrued season. He failed to make their 53-man roster in 2020, but did spend some time on the practice squad.
That lasted only a few weeks, Pittsburgh letting him go on October 6. After that, he remained unsigned for a month. The Steelers signed him to their own practice squad on November 7. That came following the game against the Baltimore Ravens, with Tyson Alualu lost to an injury. Also injured was Chris Wormley at the time, spending three weeks on the Reserve/Injured List.
Though Alualu and Wormley got back healthy, and the Steelers ended up with seven defensive linemen on the 53-man roster, Christmas remained on the practice squad for the remainder of the season. The team retained him on a Reserve/Future contract at the end of the year. The team also retained another defensive lineman on the practice squad, Calvin Taylor, one of their original college free agent rookie signings.
At 6’3” and 302 pounds, the former Florida State Seminole (whom we profiled two years ago) has yet to find his footing in the NFL two years after he was originally drafted, and has yet to see time on a 53-man roster for a game. He will be looking to change that in 2021, but will have his hands full cracking a depth chart this offseason that retains all seven rostered players from a year ago.
