Like Joey Porter Jr., the Pittsburgh Steelers are right where we are: sitting at home being mad. Although they managed to make the playoffs in 2023, they lost in the first round. It has now been seven years without a postseason victory, the longest drought in franchise history. The question is what to do next.
The first step is always taking stock of what happened and what is left. That’s part of the exit meeting process, in which coaches meet with each player. They discuss the season and their expectations moving forward—and potentially their role within it.
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 2023 season.
Player: Joey Porter Jr.
Position: Cornerback
Experience: 1 Year
Yet another rookie to discuss among starters, CB Joey Porter Jr. rightfully won the team’s Rookie of the Year award. The Steelers drafted him at the top of the second round, making clear they had nobody higher on their board. Even though they had plenty of trade proposals to consider, it seems they made the right decision taking the player.
They obviously knew him extremely well during the pre-draft process. That’s easy when your father is a former player and coach for the team. He spent a lot of time at the team facilities growing up, including in high school, covering Antonio Brown.
All of that is just the background, however. His true story as a Steeler began on draft night. And the first chapter ended with honorable recognition. He is only the seventh Steeler to even receive a vote for the Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. The last Steeler to win it was Kendrell Bell in 2001.
And that’s just another way of saying he played well. In fact, he played well immediately, even if it was in limited action. He began his rookie season as a dime defender before earning nickel snaps. Only around the middle of the season did he finally crack the starting lineup on a full-time basis.
His numbers won’t jump off the page, but he did finish with one interception and 10 passes defensed. A constant area of improvement for him became his tackling, with tangible results. On the flip side, he continues to work on his penalties, particularly for holding and pass interference.
That is the area in which he must improve the most going into his second season. The coaches have talked about it a lot—it’s hard not to with the number of flags he drew. But there’s no other way to describe his rookie season but as a success, and there’s ample reason to believe he is still getting better.
