Ahead of the team’s first training camp practice Thursday morning, the Pittsburgh Steelers have placed three players on “injured lists,” either the Physically Unable To Perform (PUP) or Non-Football Injury (NFI) lists. LB Cole Holcomb (knee) and DL Dean Lowry (pec) will begin on Active/PUP, while RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson (hamstring) will begin on Active/NFI.
Holcomb is still recovering from a serious knee injury suffered last November. Tomlin didn’t outright indicate Lowry’s injury, though hinted it was related due to his pec injury last year. He noted Patterson suffered a hamstring injury while training ahead of camp. Tomlin later called him “day-to-day.”
“We got three guys that’ll be on the list,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel. “We got two PUP guys, Dean Lowry and Cole Holcomb, obviously with pre-existing injury. And C-Patterson will be on the Non-Football Injury list. He’s got a hammy that he hurt down south in training. So we got three guys that’ll start off kind of as non-participants in this process.”
None of these three players will be permitted to practice for the duration of his time on the list. Tomlin indicated every player on the roster showed up to Latrobe and aside from those three, the group is largely healthy.
Under Active/PUP and Active/NFI rules, all three still count against the Steelers’ 91-man roster (the roster is one over the usual 90-man maximum due to German-born OLB Julius Welschof being an international exemption). The team can activate any of the three off Active/PUP or NFI at any time.
Holcomb suffered a severe knee injury in the team’s Week 9 win over the Tennessee Titans, colliding with SS Keanu Neal on a pass over the middle. Carted off, he was taken to the hospital for observation. Precise details of his injury were never revealed, but the injury was season-ending. Since his surgery, Holcomb has been rehabbing. Though he didn’t participate in OTAs, he walked around with no noticeable limp, only wearing a black sleeve on his left leg.
The Steelers never offered a timeline for Holcomb’s return, though Mike Tomlin offered an optimistic tone about him at the end of the spring.
“I’m sure he is, man,” Tomlin said when asked if Holcomb planned to return for training camp. “I don’t have a lot of details about the specifics of it. But at every checkpoint, I think the experts are comfortable with his progress, and I know he’s working extremely hard.”
In May, Holcomb described his rehab as a “grind” but was determined to get back to playing football.
GM Omar Khan indicated Holcomb would meet with doctors in July to determine his status. Clearly, doctors and the team believe he needs at least a little more time to get ready. Even if and when Holcomb comes off Active/PUP, he may be limited to non-contact drills for some period of time.
Like 2023, Pittsburgh re-shaped their inside linebacker room this offseason. They signed former Baltimore Raven Patrick Queen to a record-setting deal while drafting NC State’s Payton Wilson in the third round. They also signed ex-Steeler and special teamer Tyler Matakevich shortly before camp began.
Lowry signed a two-year deal in free agency. A veteran defensive end, he spent most of his time with the Green Bay Packers before signing with the Minnesota Vikings in 2023. He appeared in nine games before suffering a season-ending pec injury.
Patterson was signed in response to the NFL’s change of the kick return rules. One of the greatest return men in team history, Patterson holds the NFL record with nine career kickoff return touchdowns.
Tomlin said there was “no question” he hopes all three will get on the “moving train” as soon as possible.
The Steelers will hold their first camp practice tomorrow and three more padless sessions before an off day on Monday. They’ll hold their first padded practice next Tuesday.
