Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 Exit Interviews: Mason Cole and James Daniels

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2022 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 2023.

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 has previously stated he starts his interviews with rookies, first year players, and those heading into free agency, we will do the same. To start, I paired a potential free agent with players on rookie contracts. Now that both of those categories are done, I’ll pair players under contract as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.

Next up are center Mason Cole and guard James Daniels.

Mason Cole

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Position: Center
Years with the Steelers: 1
Years in the NFL: 5
Contract Status: Signed through 2024
Contract Details: $6,921,666 salary cap hit for 2023. Would cost the Steelers $3,043,334 in dead money if released and save $3,878,332.
Games played in 2022: 17 regular season
Games started in 2022: 17 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 1,114 (offense)
PFF score: 67.1 (12th of 38)
Notable stats: Cole had two penalties called on him in 2022, both of which were either declined or offsetting. Cole was credited with one fumble.

Notes: When the Steelers signed Cole last offseason, I said that I felt that he raised the floor for the play the Steelers would get at the center position. There could possibly be someone who played better than him who got the job, but if Mason Cole was the guy they would have much better play than the previous season. While I still believe this is true, it’s an even higher floor than I expected. It’s not that the Steelers couldn’t try to find a better, long-term answer at the center position. But if they don’t, Mason Cole is not a problem going forward playing the position. To me, Cole is the guy next season unless the Steelers decide to make an upgrade which would ultimately require a big commitment in capital.

James Daniels

Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Position: Guard
Years with the Steelers: 1
Years in the NFL: 5
Contract Status: Signed through 2024
Contract Details: $11,166,666 salary cap hit for 2023. Would cost the Steelers $5,833,334 in dead money if released and save $5,333,332.
Games played in 2022: 17 regular season
Games started in 2022: 17 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 1,160 (offense)
PFF score: 66.9 (24th of 78)
Notable stats: Daniels had three penalties called on him in 2022, two of which were declined or offsetting.

Notes: According to Pro Football Focus, James Daniels gave up zero sacks and only three quarterback hits for the entire season. Although he struggled immensely in preseason, Daniels got it together and was ready for the new system early on in 2022. While he wasn’t flashy, most of the time offensive lineman aren’t standing out unless they’re doing something wrong. To me, James Daniels did exactly what I hoped you would do for 2022 and I want to see him roll it back again in 2023 at hopefully an even higher level.

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:

Kenny Pickett & Mason Rudolph
George Pickens & Miles Boykin
DeMarvin Leal & Larry Ogunjobi
Connor Heyward & Zach Gentry
Mark Robinson & Devin Bush
Jaylen Warren & Benny Snell Jr.
Calvin Austin III & Derek Watt
Najee Harris & Terrell Edmunds
Pat Freiermuth & Trent Scott
Dan Moore Jr. & Jesse Davis
Isaiahh Loudermilk & Chris Wormley
Tre Norwood & Damontae Kazee
Pressley Harvin III & Marcus Allen
Kendrick Green & J.C. Hassenauer
Alex Highsmith & Malik Reed
Kevin Dotson & Tyson Alualu
Ahkello Witherspoon & Cam Sutton
Myles Jack & Robert Spillane
Minkah Fitzpatrick & Karl Joseph
Levi Wallace & James Pierre
Miles Killebrew & Elijah Riley
T.J. Watt & Jamir Jones
Montravius Adams & Tae Crowder
Cam Heyward & Jonathan Marshall
Chris Boswell & Christian Kuntz
Arthur Maulet & William Jackson III
Steven Sims & Gunner Olszewski
Jeremy McNichols & Carlins Platel