Like Dylan Cook, 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: Dylan Cook
Position: Tackle/Guard
Experience: 1 Year
A 2022 college free agent, Cook spent his rookie season on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ practice squad. They waived him in mid-May and the Steelers signed him three days later. He hasn’t gone anywhere since. To his full credit, he outright made the 53-man roster, though he did not play a snap during the season.
Instead, he served as the Steelers’ ninth offensive lineman, only dressing when another lineman missed a game due to injury. But the coaches were duly impressed with not just his play but also his position flexibility. He looked equally comfortable at both tackle and guard, both in training camp and the preseason.
They were unwilling to risk losing him, it seems, so they kept him on the 53-man roster. In doing so, they traded two former starters, Kendrick Green to the Texans and Kevin Dotson to the Rams. Neither trade moved the needle much as unexpected, but Dotson’s move rested more on salary. Pittsburgh signed Isaac Seumalo to start at guard, meaning Dotson could only be a backup with an elevated salary.
Had Cook and rookie Spencer Anderson not impressed, they probably opt to retain Dotson. That doesn’t mean he goes on to have the same success he did in Los Angeles, of course. But the development of those two young linemen obviously played a role in making him available for trade.
Pittsburgh succeeded in developing talent from humble origins along the offensive line not so long ago. Former offensive line coach Mike Munchak was responsible for most of that, but he departed years ago. That’s not to say Cook can’t develop into a bigger role, even a starter, under Pat Meyer. Right now, however, he’s just looking to dress on Sundays as a primary backup.
