Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 Exit Interviews: Stephon Tuitt and Carlos Davis

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 NFL season has come to a close. Because the Steelers are among the 31 teams who did not finish fulfilling their ultimate goal, they are in the process of wrapping up their season and moving forward into 2022.

Since the Steelers conduct exit interviews with all their players, we here at BTSC thought we would do the same. By outlining two players each day, we will be able to look at their season in retrospect as well as looking toward the future. Since Coach Tomlin stated he starts his interviews with rookies, first year players, and those heading into free agency, we will do the same. To start, we will pair a potential free agent with a first-year player as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.

Next up is defensive tackles Stephion Tuitt and Carlos Davis.

Stephon Tuitt

Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Position: Defensive end
Years with the Steelers: 7
Years in the NFL: 7 (does not include 2021)
Contract Status: Signed through 2022
Contract Details: $13,975,750 salary cap hit for 2022. Would cost the Steelers $9,680,750 in dead money if released.
Games played in 2021: None
Games started in 2021: None
Snaps (regular season): None
PFF score: None
Notable stats (regular season): None

Notes: By not playing a snap in 2021, Stephon Tuitt is the biggest unknown heading into the 2022 offseason. Currently the third highest salary cap hit this season, the Steelers can’t afford to continue to have Tuitt eating up this amount of space to not take the field. Additionally, the Steelers also need to know if they can count on Tuitts production moving forward. The Steelers know this is a conversation they need to have and it will determine a lot of their offseason plans for the defense. As fans, for now we wait, just like we did all season for Tuitt to return.

Carlos Davis

Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Position: Defensive tackle
Years with the Steelers: 2
Years in the NFL: 2
Contract Status: Signed through 2023
Contract Details: $918,376 salary cap hit for 2022. Would cost the Steelers $46,752 in dead money if released.
Games played in 2021: 4 regular season
Games started in 2021: None
Snaps (regular season): 50 (defense), 8 (special teams)
PFF score: 58.7 (DNQ for ranking)
Notable stats (regular season): Davis had five tackles, one of which was for loss.

Notes: After playing in the first game of the season, Carlos Davis did not return the Steelers lineup until Week 15. Although he did not go on the Reserve/Injured List right away, eventually Davis landed there rather than take up the roster spot. But when all other lineman were healthy on the defense, Davis was inactive for both Week 18 and the playoffs. After two seasons as a seventh-round draft pick, Davis will have to earn his spot on the team in 2022.

So what do you think? How would you conduct Tuitt’s and Davis’ exit interview? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Make sure you check back each day for another set of exit interviews. If you have missed any of the previous articles, they are listed here:

Ben Roethlisberger & Najee Harris
Eric Ebron & Pat Freiermuth
Trai Turner & Kendrick Green
Chuks Okorafor & Dan Moore Jr.
Robert Spillane & Buddy Johnson
Montravius Adams & Isaiahh Loudermilk
Joe Haden & Tre Norwood
Christian Kuntz & Pressley Harvin
JuJu Smith-Schuster & Cody White
J.C. Hassenauer & John Leglue
Marcus Allen & Tegray Scales
James Washington & Chase Claypool
Taco Charlton & Alex Highsmith
Ahkello Witherspoon & James Pierre
B.J. Finney & Kevin Dotson
Kalen Ballage & Anthony McFarland