Like Desmond King II, 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: Desmond King II
Position: Cornerback
Experience: 7 Years
A former college free agent, Desmond King II has made a career for himself in the NFL as primarily a slot cornerback. He’s spent most of his career with the Los Angeles Chargers and Houston Texans, but recently found himself in Pittsburgh.
They signed him at the start of the 2023 regular season, but released him a month and a half later, King having logged all of three games. The Steelers managed all of one defensive snap for him, the Iowa product spending some time as kick returner. In that capacity, he returned four kicks for 88 yards, or a 22-yard average, before they released him in October.
They moved on instead to RB Godwin Igwebuike, who handled the role relatively well. As for King, he eventually returned to the Texans, where he’d played the previous two seasons. He played more than 300 defensive snaps in seven games, adding another 53 on special teams. There he served as punt returner, bringing back eight for 101 yards. Defensively, he recorded 47 tackles with five for loss with a sack and forced fumble. In two playoff games, he added another 17 tackles, two for loss, and another sack.
The Steelers released him after signing rookie CB Darius Rush off the Kansas City Chiefs’ practice squad. Apparently deciding they couldn’t use King, they opted for the upside candidate to develop. Rush played very sparingly, primarily in just one game, spending most of the year inactive or on the bench.
Meanwhile, the Steelers are looking for a slot cornerback this offseason as well as depth on the outside. They released Patrick Peterson and James Pierre, Levi Wallace, and Chandon Sullivan are free agents. As for King, the Texans retained him last week on a one-year contract extension before hitting the open market.
