With training camp just around the corner, it’s time to turn our focus on what is going on within each position, and on the roster as a whole. Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be taking a closer look at some of the roster battles that we expect to see unfold over the course of training camp as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the start of the 2023 season.
This year, there will be no quarterback competition overshadowing everything that goes on at Latrobe, but there will still be plenty of battles to sift through, both in the starting lineup and in depth. The Steelers added many new faces this offseason, rookie and veteran alike, and it’s in training camp that we begin to see where all the pieces fit.
Position: Inside Linebacker
Up for Grabs: Starting Job
In the Mix: Cole Holcomb, Elandon Roberts, Mark Robinson
Players have as much to say about competitions as do the coaches. That’s why it only matters so much that defensive coordinator Teryl Austin earlier this offseason downplayed the possibility of Mark Robinson taking on a starting job, suggesting that he was more likely to be ready to compete for such a role next year.
After all, it’s not as though his competition is anything remarkable. Indeed, the two projected starters, Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts, are new to the team even though they are veterans with significant starting experience.
Holcomb is coming off of a foot injury that kept him out of team drills during the spring, so we don’t even know with certainty that he is going to be ready to go, or ready to compete at a high enough level to merit a full-time starting job.
As for Roberts, he readily identifies with the two-down thumper label. He knows what kind of player he is and where he works best. But that also limits his ceiling. While Robinson has a similar skillset, yet lacking the football wisdom the older veteran has, he is a better athlete who could be more dynamic when his mind catches up to his body.
Basically, this could be a competition between Robinson and himself. If he can get himself mentally up to speed, he could either carve out a role for himself within the defense, as Robert Spillane did, or actually take on a starting job outright.
Training camp and the preseason are the times to figure these things out. I personally don’t think Robinson is going to be ready to take that step and don’t believe the odds actually favor him ever being a full-time starter, but then again, you only have to be one of the two best linebackers on the roster. If the roster’s not very good, you don’t have to be very good.
