Like Eric Rowe, 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: Eric Rowe
Position: Safety
Experience: 8 Years
Eric Rowe logged more than 200 snaps at the end of the 2023 season for the Pittsburgh Steelers across four games, including their Wild Card defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills. They needed a body at safety with injuries to three and a suspension for another, and he stepped up. Yet, for whatever reason, he remains unemployed in the NFL—not just by the Steelers, but from all 32 teams.
A former second-round pick with a long, if inconsistent, career, Rowe turns 32 in October. From mid-September to mid-November, he spent nearly two months during the 2023 season without a job. Even then, despite starting four games, he only ever held a practice squad contract. His contract terminated in January, meaning he’s been a free agent for a while now, yet nobody’s signed him.
When the Steelers put him on the field, he generally passed the eye test. He frequently earned praise, particularly from head coach Mike Tomlin and esteemed teammates like Cameron Heyward. The latter couldn’t believe, once he got on the field, that he hadn’t been on a team for so long.
Rowe started 56 of 100 games over the course of his first eight seasons in the NFL. He spent the previous four seasons with the Miami Dolphins, starting 39 games during that time but losing his full-time starting role in 2021.
At the end of last season, Rowe recorded 29 tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception in just three games. He added another eight tackles and a pass defensed in their Wild Card game. At the end of the season, Tomlin claimed to be “certainly” open to continuing to do business with him.
It’s unclear why they haven’t, as yet. He said on social media that he is trying to, actually, which squarely puts the ball in Pittsburgh’s court. Unless it’s a case of him wanting to sign more than a Veteran Salary Benefit deal, I’m not sure why they don’t bring him back based on their evident approval of his play.
