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: Charles Jones
Position: TE
Experience: 1 Year
Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of Charles Jones, even if he spent a month and a half with Pittsburgh. There isn’t a lot to know about him, truth be told. A 2019 graduate of Tulane, he originally went undrafted, spending time in 2019 with the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Buffalo Bills.
He did make the Jaguars’ practice squad as a rookie, and in mid-November was called up to the 53-man roster. Jones logged four games played with one reception for five yards. He remained in Jacksonville until fairly recently.
Jones went on the Reserve/COVID-19 List at the end of July before Pittsburgh activated him a few days later. Jones had to be placed back on the list shortly thereafter. Toward the end of August, he was waived with an injury designation. He signed to the Bills’ practice squad at the end of October.
He would only last a couple of days, however, and wouldn’t find another landing spot until the Steelers signed him to their practice squad on November 17. This all came around the same time that Vance McDonald was on the Reserve/COVID-19 List during the regular season. An injury to Zach Gentry a short time later helped Jones retain that practice squad spot for the remainder of the year.
With McDonald retiring, Jones, who was retained after the season to a Reserve/Future contract, has a shot in the dark to make the team. The Steelers don’t have much behind Eric Ebron, depth consisting of Gentry, Kevin Rader, Jones, and Dax Raymond, basically none of whom have any meaningful experience.
