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The Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex earlier than they had anticipated, having been ousted before they even reached the postseason, which unfortunately marks the sixth consecutive season in which they failed to win a postseason game—tying their longest drought of the Super Bowl era. Yet again, they find themselves undergoing the exit meeting process earlier than anticipated, which means so are we.
The Steelers did arguably perform at or above expectations this year by going 9-8 and nearly making the postseason at all, a reflection of just how much talent they lost during the offseason, from Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Haden to most of their wide receiver room, not to mention Stephon Tuitt’s decision to retire.
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 2022 season.
Player: Chris Boswell
Position: K
Experience: 8 Years
The last time kicker Chris Boswell missed seven or more field goal attempts in a season, he very nearly lost his job—twice. And he had already been named to a Pro Bowl by then. That was back in 2018 when he went just 13-for-20 on field goals on the year. He also missed five extra points.
The 2022 season wasn’t quite that bad, admittedly, though he actually missed one more field goal. He went 20-for-28 overall, one of which was blocked. He didn’t miss any extra points, though he attempted fewer than half compared to 2018—not just because he missed five games but because the offense scored a lot fewer touchdowns. And conversely, they attempted a lot more field goals.
As mentioned, Boswell missed five games due to injury, during some of which time he was on the Reserve/Injured List. They ended up using two different kickers to replace him, and they both filled in admirably, overall.
Still, there doesn’t appear to be any kicking competition brewing. He had a $1.3 million roster bonus due on March 17, so the Steelers have already paid that. The last time around, he also had an early roster bonus due, but the Steelers threatened to release him outright if he didn’t consent to move the due date until during training camp. At least, we can safely surmise that’s how it played out, because there’s no other reason he would consent to the delay.
With three more years beyond 2023 remaining on his contract and the $1.3 million roster bonus already locked in, the Steelers would actually lose cap space if they were to release him. That doesn’t guarantee that they won’t challenge him, but by and large they appear to be trusting that he will rebound. And After three consecutive seasons of being one of the most accurate kicker in NFL history, it’s not unreasonable.
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