On the first day of padded practice at the 2023 training camp, then-rookie CB Cory Trice Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury. It was an unfortunate end to what was shaping up to be an exciting rookie season for the seventh-round draft pick. He had earned rave reviews all throughout spring practices along with Joey Porter Jr., and the future of the cornerback room was looking bright.
Given his extensive injury history prior to his time in the NFL, his significant knee injury was concerning and left his NFL future up in the air. He was trending in the right direction throughout the spring practices as a limited participant leading up to the 2024 training camp. He was even recently seen on social media working out without a knee brace.
Per Alex Kozora, who is on-site at training camp, Trice arrived at practice without a knee brace and with his helmet in hand.
Trice has a big opportunity ahead of him this training camp. Behind Porter and Donte Jackson, the top depth corner is a wide-open competition. Trice will be competing against veteran CB Anthony Averett as well as fellow second-year player Darius Rush. Others will be involved in the competition, but those are probably the three leading candidates to open things up at camp.
He ended up as a full participant in the first practice, per Kozora.
This is obviously a good sign for Trice and bodes well for his chances of capturing the top depth spot at the outside corner. The real test will be once the pads come on and Trice has to go full contact.
Can Cory Trice Jr. recapture how he looked last spring? Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin suggested he was getting close to returning to his 2023 offseason form in an interview at minicamp last month. If he can, that will go a long way towards alleviating concerns with Cam Sutton sitting out the first eight weeks of the season with a suspension.
