Like Godwin Igwebuike, 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: Godwin Igwebuike
Position: Running Back
Experience: 3 Years
The Steelers never looked at Godwin Igwebuike as a running back even though he spent most of the year there. They did, however, give him the opportunity to take over the starting kick returner job. He served in that role for the majority of the season, not for the first time in his NFL career.
Overall, he only had a limited opportunity to return kicks, unsurprising given how many end in touchbacks. He totaled 11 kick returns, however, for 282 yards, or a 25.6-yard average. He didn’t set any records for efficiency, but that is a respectable total.
But he had precisely zero offensive snaps during the 10 games in which he played, even if he saw two for the Falcons before the Steelers signed him. In reality, they only brought him in because they lost their returner in the season opener in Anthony McFarland Jr. McFarland showed well as a returner in the first game of the season but couldn’t win his job back when healthy.
The Steelers did try to carve out a tiny role for McFarland, the former fourth-round pick seeing a handful of offensive snaps in the opener. He even caught two passes, one of which converted on fourth down. They never even seemed to consider doing the same for Igwebuike.
But they are likely to re-sign him this offseason for his return abilities. Whether they take a look at him as a potential offensive contributor is another question. They already have Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren at running back. More often than not, they have enough trouble trying to find enough carries for the two of them.
Still, the Steelers prefer to have a return man they are able to trust to do something else as well. They make exceptions in exceptional cases, and Igwebuike did help his case with his intelligence. He received a great deal of praise for forcing one kickoff by Justin Tucker out of bounds in the season finale.
