It has been a long road back from injury for Cory Trice Jr. After suffering a season-ending knee injury on the first day of padded practice in last year’s training camp, the former seventh-round pick’s future was up in the air. He slid to the late rounds of the 2023 draft because of his injury history. To his credit, he rehabbed and got himself ready for the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ training camp. Now he has himself in position to earn the top backup job at outside corner.
This week in particular is important for Trice as Donte Jackson has sat out the last two practices with what Mike Tomlin described as training camp-like bumps and bruises. Nothing major, but enough for the other corners to get opportunities with the first-team defense. So far, that corner has been Trice.
He was asked if he realizes how big of an opportunity he has this week after Monday’s practice.
“Definitely,” Trice said in a video posted by Post-Gazette Sports on YouTube. “Definitely an important week getting reps with different guys in there. So I gotta realize certain things. So definitely been really big.”
Prior to his injury last camp, Trice had turned heads throughout spring practices at OTAs and minicamp. Porter was the prized CB selection in that draft, but Trice was looking just as promising early on. They both have similar builds with height, length, and athleticism in abundance.
Coming out of Purdue, Trice measured in at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine at 6033, 205 pounds with 32 3/8-inch arms. He also had an impressive 17 reps on the bench press and jumped a 35 1/2-inch vertical. That is the mold of corners that general manager Omar Khan and assistant GM Andy Weidl have seemed to gravitate toward since taking control of the Steelers’ roster.
Trice was asked if he has been opening some eyes at camp with his play.
“I’m not really trying to open some eyes, but I’m always putting my best foot forward,” Trice said. “So if that open their eyes, then shoot, that’s what we doing.”
Defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said during media availability on Sunday that there is no pecking order for the cornerback depth yet. In other words, it is a wide-open competition. Veteran Anthony Averett and fellow second-year player Darius Rush are the top contenders along with Trice. Up until this point, Trice hadn’t received a ton of meaningful practice reps as he worked his way back into football shape.
Now that he is ramping up, he has a golden opportunity to be the top corner depth. That would almost certainly see him playing meaningful snaps for the Steelers in the regular season. Pretty remarkable considering where he was this time last year with a ton of uncertainty about his future.
Playing in his first preseason game was a “dream come true” for him, but Trice certainly has his sights set on much bigger goals.
