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 the fifth consecutive season in which they failed to win a postseason game—a new record for the franchise since the merger. Yet again, they find themselves undergoing the exit meeting process earlier than anticipated, which means so are we.
The Steelers did arguably perform at or above expectations this year by going 9-7-1 and making the postseason at all, a reflection of just how much talent they lost during the offseason, from the majority of the offensive line to Mike Hilton, Bud Dupree, Steven Nelson, and Vince Williams—not to mention Stephon Tuitt, essentially.
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 2021 season.
Player: Khalil Davis
Position: DL
Experience: 1 Year
Although he was drafted in 2020, Khalil Davis did not spend enough time during the 2021 season on 53-man rosters to earn an accrued season; thus, for bookkeeping purposes, he is classified as a second-year player with one year of accrued experience. In case anybody cares.
A sixth-round pick out of Nebraska, Davis was cut loose by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in early October last year. Multiple teams, including the Steelers, attempted to claim him off waivers, but the Indianapolis Colts were awarded him. If their claim were successful, the Steelers would have had to make room for him on their 53-man roster.
The Colts eventually waived Davis on October 30. This time, nobody claimed him off waivers, including the Steelers, but he did agree to join Pittsburgh’s practice squad, signing on November 2. He spent the entire season on the practice squad from that point forward, without ever being called up to the 53-man roster or elevated, or otherwise promoted as a COVID-19 replacement.
Since being drafted, Davis has played in three career games, logging 43 defensive snaps. He has two career hits. He only played in one game in 2021 for the Buccaneers, logging six snaps without recording a statistic.
He is also, of course, the identical twin brother of Carlos Davis, who is also a member of the Steelers’ defensive line. They drafted Carlos in the seventh round in 2020, and he showed some promise during his rookie season.
Last year, however, he suffered an injury in the season opener, he went on to miss most of the rest of the year, though he remained on the 53-man roster for much of that time before finally being moved to the Reserve/Injured List.
Davis only played in four games last season, registering five tackles across 50 snaps. Neither of them figure to have a roster spot guaranteed heading into 2022, with a potential defensive line group of Cameron Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Tyson Alualu, Chris Wormley, Montravius Adams, and Isaiahh Loudermilk.
