Like Chandon Sullivan, 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: Chandon Sullivan
Position: Cornerback
Experience: 6 Years
The Steelers put Chandon Sullivan on the field for just 422 snaps, which is his lowest total since 2019. In his three previous seasons, he played more than 70 percent of the defensive snaps, with a low of 729. Last year with the Minnesota Vikings, he logged 945 snaps or 81 percent of their defensive total.
Instead, in Pittsburgh Sullivan played a career-high 222 snaps on special teams, which he’d hardly done the last two years. Beggars can’t be choosers, however, and Sullivan was still looking for a job during the 2023 NFL Draft.
The Steelers released Arthur Maulet, who requested his release, and turned around and signed Sullivan, a similar player. And they ended up using him relatively similarly, with a role of varying size. He only played 13 snaps in the opener against a run-heavy San Francisco 49ers, for example, but then played 47 snaps the following week in a game in which the Cleveland Browns lost RB Nick Chubb.
He saw his most extensive playing time at the end of the season, coinciding with major injuries in the secondary. With several top safeties out, Patrick Peterson moved there, with Levi Wallace starting. They plugged Sullivan into the slot heavily, and he played 113 snaps in that three-game run.
On the season, he recorded one interception against the Browns with six total passes defensed. Sullivan recorded 22 tackles, one going for lost yardage. He also recorded a forced fumble against the Baltimore Ravens, though after a 30-yard completion.
At least so far, the Steelers have not re-signed Sullivan, though they certainly might. Given that he remained on the market for a month and a half after a better 2022 season, I don’t think they’re going to be in any particular hurry to lock him up, if they re-sign him at all, giving them time to explore all of their options.
