The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted two cornerbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft in Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr., but Trice’s season was cut short after the seventh-round pick tore his ACL in training camp. Trice has been working to get back healthy and said he hopes to be fully cleared by training camp. Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin offered an update on Trice and said he’s getting closer to where he was.
“Right now, Cory’s just working his way back into getting somewhere close to full strength. But he had a promising start last year until the injury. I think he’s kind of starting to pick it back up in terms of that, getting closer to where he was. Really like how he’s doing. We’ve been real careful with him. Because we want to make sure that we get him to camp and give him the best opportunity to succeed because we did think that last year he was trending in the right direction,” Austin said via Steelers.com.
Injury concerns were a big reason why Trice fell to the seventh round in the draft last season, but his talent made him worth the selection, and he looked good in camp and OTAs before the injury. If he can get healthy, he’ll have a role as one of Pittsburgh’s top depth options on the outside behind Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson.
Given Trice’s injury history, it makes sense that the Steelers would be extra cautious, given this is his second ACL tear, although it was a different knee from his prior tear. But Trice does have a lengthy injury history, and rushing him back wouldn’t be good for him or the team. The Steelers added to their cornerback depth during and after the draft with Ryan Watts, Anthony Averett, and Cameron Sutton joining the team, and while Sutton might start in the slot, he has the capability to play outside.
Given the bodies added at cornerback, there’s been no need to rush Trice back, although I’m sure the team is eager to see how he looks when he’s fully cleared. While Trice likely won’t make a major impact this season, he’ll still see some snaps and he could be in line to be a bigger contributor in the future. As Austin said, he was trending in the right direction before getting hurt last season, one of the team’s standouts from offseason workouts, and if he can jump right back in and make an impact, Trice could definitely be a surprise.
