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: Trey Edmunds
Position: RB
Experience: 3 Years
Trey Edmunds has been in the NFL since 2017, but he’s only earned three accrued seasons since then. He has spent most of his career at this point on the Steelers’ practice squad. The 2021 season was particularly dull in that regard. It wasn’t until Christmas Day that he saw time on the active roster, called up as a COVID-19 replacement.
He dressed for two games throughout the year, accordingly, logging zero snaps on offense and 18 snaps on special teams, the least amount of action that he has ever seen in a single season since first declaring for the draft out of Virginia Tech.
Why am I writing about him? Because he’s still on the team. He was retained on a Reserve/Future signing after the Steelers’ 2021 season ended, and those who re-signed with the team after the season are the final players I will bother covering. If they’re no longer on the team, then they’ve already been covered if they were significant enough.
Edmunds is, of course, the elder brother of Terrell Edmunds, who has been their starting strong safety for the past four years. Terrell is currently and remains an unrestricted free agent, however, and it is not clear if he will find his way back to Pittsburgh. The Steelers are reportedly open to it, but only at the right price—and possibly if they don’t land a preferred option. We know Mike Tomlin called Tyrann Mathieu, after all.
Over the course of his four-year Steelers career, Trey Edmunds has logged 100 offensive snaps in 21 games, and 298 snaps on special teams. He has six tackles and a damn interception, of all things. He has recorded 92 rushing yards on 22 attempts, with 48 receiving yards on six catches. And he is always perilously close to the end of his NFL career. He has earned about $2 million over five years for playing professional football, though. Not too bad, but not exactly retirement money.
