The Pittsburgh Steelers were back in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex earlier than they had anticipated, having been ousted before they even reached the postseason. That unfortunately marked the sixth-consecutive season in which the Steelers failed to win a postseason game—tying their longest drought of the Super Bowl era. Yet again, they found themselves undergoing the exit meeting process earlier than anticipated, which means so did we.
The Steelers did arguably perform at or above expectations this year by going 9-8 and nearly making the postseason, a reflection of just how much talent they lost during the offseason, from Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Haden to most of their wide receiver room, not to mention Stephon Tuitt’s retirement.
While we might not know what goes on between head coach Mike Tomlin and his players during exit meetings, we do know how we would conduct those meetings. So here are the Depot’s exit meetings for the Steelers’ roster following the 2022 season.
Player: Josh Jackson
Position: CB
Experience: 3 Years
Josh Jackson’s time in Pittsburgh was not long, as he was signed to the practice squad on September 5 and waived on December 24. But he did play in four games while in Pittsburgh, making one start, across 85 snaps, and that is significant enough to be included here.
Specifically, his defensive work was limited to two games, 26 snaps against the Buffalo Bills in week five, after Cameron Sutton and Levi Wallace were injured, and 59 snaps the following week in a start against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
It proved to be a successful outing for Jackson, a 2018 second-round draft pick out of Iowa by the Green Bay Packers. Playing with a banged-up secondary that also featured James Pierre and Tre Norwood starting due to injuries, the Steelers managed to get the better of Tom Brady to secure just their second win of the year, and first since the opener. It was Kenny Pickett’s first NFL victory, though he didn’t finish the game.
Jackson didn’t play another defensive snap for the Steelers and was inactive for most of the rest of the season until the Steelers released him. He did get claimed by the Arizona Cardinals, where he remains under contract.
Pittsburgh currently has under contract at the cornerback position Patrick Peterson, Levi Wallace, Ahkello Witherspoon, James Pierre, and Arthur Maulet among the most notable names. It is widely anticipated that the Steelers will address the position with a high selection in the 2023 NFL Draft so that they don’t have situations when a journeyman pickup like Jackson is starting games again.
