Nearly seven months after suffering a torn ACL in training camp, Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cory Trice Jr. is progressing quite well and appears on pace to participate in Organized Team Activities, according to the Pittsburgh Post Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo.
In a chat with readers Tuesday from the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Fittipaldo was asked for an update on the seventh-round pick out of Purdue who was injured on August 1 last summer in Latrobe at Saint Vincent College.
“I saw Trice running sprints in January so it seems like he’s progressing well,” Fittipaldo wrote. “I would imagine he’d be ready to participate in training camp, if not OTAs.”
Trice left Steelers practice on Aug. 1 after being injured at the end of the second team session. Trice had to be helped off the field by trainers and had trouble putting weight on his leg and later left the field on a cart, according to Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora, who was in attendance in Latrobe that day.
Prior to the injury, Trice had been pushing for playing time. He only fell to the seventh round in the 2023 draft due to medical concerns coming out of Purdue, where he suffered multiple significant injuries, including a torn ACL. That caused the Steelers to take a chance on one of the most talented corners in the draft with the 241st overall pick.
Trice’s latest knee injury derailed a potentially promising rookie season as he was placed on season-ending injured reserve. Prior to the injury, Trice flashed the size, length, and ball skills that would’ve made him a favorite to be the team’s No. 4 cornerback and could have put him on a path to becoming a legitimate rotational piece as part of the “Avatar” cornerbacks in Pittsburgh with fellow rookie Joey Porter Jr.
Now though, he appears healthy and is set to bounce back in 2024, hopefully forcing his way into a key role for the Steelers at a position of need. He has the talent, the size and the length that is very intriguing overall. News that he was sprinting in January and could participate in OTAs is a great update from Fittipaldo.
