Are the Steelers holding Cory Trice Jr. back because of his knee?
Steelers DB Cory Trice Jr. hasn’t gotten many reps through the first four days of training camp practice. Roughly a year removed from a torn ACL, the second-year defender is attempting to secure his first 53-man roster spot. After spending his rookie season on the Reserve/Injured List, he wants to contribute, but when?
So far, as Alex Kozora noted, guys like Darius Rush and Kalon Barnes are playing ahead of Trice. But could the Steelers be exercising an abundance of caution with him because of his knee? Teams were already scared off of him during the draft because of his medical history, and then he tore another ACL early in his first training camp.
Trice wore a knee brace despite participating in OTAs, but managed to lose it over the summer. It appears that he is medically cleared for full-contact practice, yet he isn’t seeing a great deal of team work. Is he simply behind the proverbial moving train or is part of the explanation a simple cautious approach?
By this time last year, Trice had already torn his ACL, so he has made it further than in 2023. But the pads come on tomorrow, and that will be a significant test. Perhaps in a few more days the Steelers might ramp up his work, if that is part of their plan.
The alternative is, of course, that the former seventh-round pick has simply lost any ground he stood on. guys like Rush stood out during OTAs, so they are taking the reps that they earned. Yet the Steelers reportedly like Cory Trice Jr. and what he can bring—so where are the reps?
Training camp is a fluid process that can shift week to week, day to day, or even session to session. For all we know, Trice will be running with the second-team defense tomorrow. Or maybe he’ll be watching from the sidelines. We’ll simply have to wait to find out more to the story, if there’s anything worth telling. But Steelers fans have had a vested interest in this particular underdog for 15 months, so people want to know.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they miss the playoffs altogether. They have had a long offseason since the Buffalo Bills stamped them out of their misery back in January.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? How will the team continue to address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
