While Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie CB Cory Trice Jr.’s fate for 2023 is known, out for the season on injured reserve, the specifics of his injury was never actually reported. It’s clear he suffered a serious knee injury, one Mike Tomlin called “significant,” but there was never a follow-up or report on the specifics of what ended Trice’s year before it began.
We may finally have some clarity. Tucked away in Pro Football Network Adam Caplan’s notes in a Tuesday article is this line about Trice.
“A source with knowledge of the situation said that seventh-round rookie CB Cory Trice, who wound up suffering a torn ACL during a training camp practice in early August, was doing exceptionally well and was a leading candidate to be one of the team’s top backup outside players at the position.”
To my knowledge, Caplan is the first insider to actually spell out the nature of Trice’s injury. It’s consistent with what we saw happen on the field. On Aug. 1, the team’s first padded practice of camp, Trice suffered a non-contact right knee injury during the final play of the team’s run period, a live-tackling session. Working left to right, rookie wide receiver Jordan Byrd received a jet run and Trice came down to defend it before he crumpled to the ground, the players blocking each other falling on top of him.
He laid on the ground for roughly a minute before being helped to his feet and carried over to the cart, putting no weight on his injured knee. Carted off, Trice hung his head, likely knowing what the outcome was going to be. Injuries were a key reason why he fell to the seventh round of April’s draft. He broke his ankle in high school and tore his left ACL at Purdue along with more minor and nagging injuries.
As Caplan notes, Trice was flashing in the handful of practices before the injury. While they weren’t in pads, Trice showed his size, length, and ball skills that would’ve made him a favorite to be the team’s No. 4 cornerback.
Now, he’ll have to get healthy for 2024. Getting cleared for some activity next spring would be ideal, OTAs or minicamp, and he could be good to go for the start of training camp next summer. If there’s any silver lining to the injury, it happened early enough to allow him plenty of time to recover.
In the meantime, he’ll take his share of mental reps. And if there’s a roadmap to follow, WR Calvin Austin III missed his entire rookie year with a foot injury but bounced back in a big way his sophomore season, crediting mental reps and staying engaged as reasons why he still developed even if he wasn’t playing.
