Like Pressley Harvin III, 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: Pressley Harvin III
Position: Punter
Experience: 3 Years
Pressley Harvin III is the first player we are discussing in this series whom the Steelers have fired. He won’t be the only one, however. That move came after three seasons of inconsistency from the 2021 seventh-round draft pick.
It’s unclear what the Steelers determined to be the tipping point. They had already given him two years and then made a quick decision at the end of his third. I understand why they gave him a second season. He had a horrible year in 2021 with multiple close family members dying.
And I get why they gave him a third year. He did progress in 2022, finding a little more consistency. He had a tolerable net punting average, but he regressed this past season. While he had some standout plays, including on national television, he continued his inconsistent ways.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said in his final press conference that Harvin wasn’t consistent enough. Apparently the organization agreed because the Steelers fired him earlier this month after three seasons. Now they don’t have a punter under contract, but they will find some legs.
The most telling statistic is this: after raising his net punting average to 41.1 yards in 2022, Harvin only averaged 39.1 yards last season. He needed to keep going in the opposite direction, but he didn’t. It’s also telling that he increased his kicks inside the 30 while lowering his gross punting average. A good deal of those kicks settled in the 15- to 20-yard line range.
Harvin’s best attribute was his work as a holder on the field goal unit. He spared K Chris Boswell from a number of errant snaps from LS Christian Kuntz. I would not be shocked if in addition to a new punter we find a new long snapper as well.
