Will Steelers ILB Cole Holcomb to placed on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) List?
The Pittsburgh Steelers report to training camp today after a long break, though we won’t learn much today. Players are merely checking in on Wednesday, with practices beginning tomorrow. One question we should learn soon is the status of ILB Cole Holcomb.
Specifically, we should learn whether the Steelers will place Holcomb on the PUP List—the Physically Unable to Perform List. The sixth-year veteran suffered a severe knee injury last season, and though he has been moving around some, he has not exactly been up to full speed.
Although he participated to some degree in OTAs, that doesn’t mean the Steelers won’t put Cole Holcomb on the PUP List to begin training camp. Any activity prior to camp has no effect on a team’s ability to place a player on PUP.
If the Steelers do put Holcomb on the PUP List, that still doesn’t tell us very much. He could come off the list at any time, though being on it is not a good sign. Even if the Steelers don’t place him on the list, that doesn’t mean they expect him to do very much.
One of their starting linebackers last season, Holcomb is a luxury for the Steelers at this point. If they get any contributions out of him during the 2024 season, it will be a bonus. They signed Patrick Queen in free agency to start, and they still have Elandon Roberts. They also drafted Payton Wilson, whom they seem very open to playing soon.
Holcomb must be on the training camp (“Active”) PUP List in order for the Steelers to place him on the in-season (“Reserve”) PUP List. In other words, he would spend the entirety of training camp on the list if he were to remain on PUP to begin the season.
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.
