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: Nick Sciba
Position: K
Experience: 0 Years
An undrafted free agent a year ago out of Wake Forest, Nick Sciba set NCAA records for the most consecutive made field goals (34) and the highest field goal percentage (89.9). He came into the league well-decorated but didn’t even get an initial contract.
The Steelers gave him a tryout invitation for rookie minicamp and signed him. He stayed with the team throughout the summer before getting waived with the first round of roster cuts—not that it was any question that Chris Boswell would make the team after three straight seasons of 90-plus percent accuracy.
But when Boswell missed the Steelers’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles in week eight, Sciba was the best kicker available on short notice. He got the call, and got the job, and he kicked, making both of his field goal attempts and his one extra-point attempt.
That’s it. That’s his legacy up to this point. Because during the bye week, Pittsburgh decided that it wanted a more comfortable option to replace Boswell, who would soon be placed on the Reserve/Injured List.
They plucked old friend Matthew Wright off the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad, who kicked for the next four games until Boswell returned. Sciba went without a job throughout all of that time. He is currently under contract with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL, whose season is set to get underway on April 15, with the Generals playing the Birmingham Stallions.
