The Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 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 2024.

Since the Steelers conduct exit interviews with all their players, and the fact I have done these articles in the past, we thought we would do the same here at Steel Curtain Network. 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 and those heading into free agency, we will attempt to do the same to some degree. To start, we will pair the most recent draftees with another player at the same position (if possible) as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.

Next up are linebackers Alex Highsmith and Kyron Johnson.

Alex Highsmith

Position: Outside Linebacker
Years with the Steelers: 4
Years in the NFL: 4
Contract Status: Signed through 2027
Contract Details: $13,933,000 salary cap hit for 2024. Would cost the Steelers $12,800,000 in dead money if released and save $1,133,000.
Games played in 2023: 17 regular season
Games started in 2023: 17 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 910 (defense), 59 (special teams)
PFF score: 90.0 (10th of 112)
Notable stats: During the regular season, Highsmith had 57 tackles, 7.0 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 3 passes defensed, and 2 inteceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.

Notes: Signing Highsmith to a four-year extension last offseason (or a five-year deal depending on how you like to look at things), he is the only player currently on the roster who is under contract for 2027. With so many years left on his deal, Highsmith is probably the most likely player to have a restructure done this offseason. When it comes to his play on the field, some were disappointed in the fall off in his number of sacks from 2022. But Alex Highsmith was making an impact on the Steelers defense in a number of ways last season such as passes defensed, interceptions, and run defense. As for 2024, hopefully Highsmith can bring all these things together even more as he holds down the other side of the defense opposite T.J. Watt.

Kyron Johnson

Position: Outside Linebacker
Years with the Steelers: 1
Years in the NFL: 2
Contract Status: Signed through 2024
Contract Details: $985,000 salary cap hit for 2024. Would cost the Steelers $0 in dead money if released and save $985,000.
Games played in 2023: 6 regular season
Games started in 2023: 0 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 1 (defense), 100 (special teams)
PFF score: 58.8 (DNQ for ranking), 68.3 (special teams)
Notable stats: None.

Notes: While many Steelers fan still might not be familiar with this name, Kyron Johnson appeared in the Steelers last six regular season games as well as the playoffs. Elevated three times from the practice squad before joining the 53-man roster just before Christmas, Johnson continued to get a helmet strictly due to his special team snaps. Johnson even received a helmet in Week 14 over Markus Golden because of the need at special teams. But even though he contributed over the final third of the season, Johnson did not register any statistics for the year. The biggest need for Johnson arose because of the Steelers dire situation at inside linebacker came with players as solutions who were not able to play special teams. With this likely to not be the case next season, it will be curious to see if Johnson can find a spot with the Steelers as he would need to be actual defensive depth.

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:

Broderick Jones & Chuks Okorafor
Joey Porter Jr. & Levi Wallace
Keeanu Benton & Montravius Adams
Darnell Washington & Rodney Williams
Nick Herbig & Markus Golden
Cory Trice Jr. & James Pierre
Spencer Anderson & Dylan Cook
Kenny Pickett & Mason Rudolph
George Pickens & Miles Boykin
DeMarvin Leal & Armon Watts
Calvin Austin III & Allen Robinson
Connor Heyward & Godwin Igwebuike
Mark Robinson & Blake Martinez
Najee Harris & Jaylen Warren
Pat Freiermuth & Diontae Johnson
Dan Moore Jr. & Mason Cole
Isaiahh Loudermilk & Larry Ogunjobi
Pressley Harvin & Christian Kuntz
Kwon Alexander & Mykal Walker
Miles Killebrew & Elijah Riley
Chandon Sullivan & Darius Rush
Cam Heyward & Patrick Peterson
Isaac Seumalo & Nate Herbig