2022 Exit Interviews: Isaiahh Loudermilk and Chris Wormley

Jan 26, 2023 - 6:30 PM

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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, 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 are defensive linemen Isaiahh Loudermilk and Chris Womley.

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Isaiahh Loudermilk

Photo by John Jones/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Position: Defensive tackle
Years with the Steelers: 2
Years in the NFL: 2
Contract Status: Signed through 2024
Contract Details: $1,020,072 salary cap hit for 2023. Would cost the Steelers $160,144 in dead money if released and would save $859,928.
Games played in 2022: 11 regular season
Games started in 2022: 3 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 116 (defense), 71 (special teams)
PFF score: 42.2 (DNQ for ranking)
Notable stats: Loudermilk finished 2022 with seven tackles, one of which was for loss.

Notes: Much like last season, Isaiahh Loudermilk begin the year as the last option on the defensive line as he was inactive. Injury brought him into the gameday lineup much sooner as a rookie where he played 15 games but only appeared in 11 this season for the Steelers. Inacive the first five games of the season, Loudermilk had one more game being inactive for one game after the return of DeMarvin Leal before getting a helmet the rest of the way. Although there wasn’t much production to see this season compared to last, Loudermilk played less than half as many snaps as he did the previous year. But rather than look backwards, everything with Loudermilk should be looking forward as his development as a piece of the Steelers defensive line rotation in 2023 is ultimately the bigger question.

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Chris Wormley

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

Position: Defensive tackle
Years with the Steelers: 3
Years in the NFL: 6
Contract Status: Free Agent
Contract Details: Contract expiring with no dead money.
Games played in 2022: 13 regular season
Games started in 2022: 1 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 338 (defense), 78 (special teams)
PFF score: 74.3 (19th of 126)
Notable stats: Wormley had 29 tackles, three of which were for loss, and 0.5 sacks as well as a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.

Notes: Although the numbers didn’t jump off the page, I believe Chris Wormley played much better in 2022 in a reserve role than what he did having to shoulder the load as a starter the previous year. Unfortunately, Wormley’s injury in Week 14 cut his season short and there will be questions as to how available he will be at the beginning of the season coming off ACL surgery which will hamper his ability to get the best deal in free agency. I would not be shocked to see Wormley back with the Steelers on a one-year contract for a small amount as he comes back from his knee injury in order for him to truly test free agency next season. It just seems like something the Steelers would do to take care of a player who got injured late in the season. Whether or not it plays out that way will be the question as perhaps there may be some other team who will pay for Wormley’s services despite the injury.

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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