2024 Steelers Exit Interviews: Mason McCormick and James Daniels

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 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 2025.

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 them yet again 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 guards Mason McCormick and James Daniels.

Mason McCormick

Position: Guard
Years with the Steelers: 1
Years in the NFL: 1
Contract Status: Signed through 2027
Contract Details: $1,151,224 salary cap hit for 2025. Would cost the Steelers $573,672 in dead money if released and save $577,552.
Games played in 2023: 17 regular season
Games started in 2023: 14 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 939 (offense), 72 (special teams)
PFF score: 57.7 (54th of 77)
Notable stats: McCormick had two penalties called on him in 2024. According to PFF he surrendered two sacks and 21 total QB pressures.

Notes: It’s a pretty safe assumption that the plan was not to have rookie fourth round pick Mason McCormick start 14 games this season. But McCormick was given the opportunity, won the job over other options, and responded quite well for the Steelers. Was he outstanding? No. Was he adequate? Mostly. More importantly it was a very solid starting point for the rookie who has the potential to grow into an key piece on the Steelers offensive line.

James Daniels

Position: Guard
Years with the Steelers: 3
Years in the NFL: 7
Contract Status: Free Agent
Contract Details: Contract expiring with no dead money.
Games played in 2023: 4 regular season
Games started in 2023: 4 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 208 (offense)
PFF score: 92.9 (DNQ for ranking)
Notable stats: Daniels had no penalties called on him in 2024. According to PFF he surrendered one sack and five total QB pressures.

Notes: The Steelers may have already made their decision on the future of James Daniels, or perhaps they’re considering what they want to do moving forward. Playing outstanding until he was injured in game four, Daniels was a quality player on the offensive line to start his contract year. But is he quality enough to return? Will his injury from 2024 decrease his market value which can make him more attractive to return to Pittsburgh? These are great questions we may not know the answers to until mid March.

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:

Troy Fautanu & Broderick Jones
Zach Frazier & Ryan McCollum
Roman Wilson & Van Jefferson
Payton Wilson & Patrick Queen