Should the Steelers have just released Cole Holcomb?
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed Cole Holcomb as a free agent in 2023. He started for the first half of the season but suffered a major knee injury. Now, people again and again continue to call his future into question. Recently, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Gerry Dulac floated the idea that the Steelers could release him. Then the Steelers renegotiated his contract, with Dave Bryan speculating he may have agreed to it to avoid an outright cut.
Should the Steelers have done so? After all, they have a long history of releasing free agents one year into their deal—especially at inside linebacker. They released Jon Bostic and Mark Barron, Myles Jack and Joe Schobert, and probably others I’m forgetting. While they inherited Schobert’s contract, he didn’t justify their keeping him.
Unfortunately for Cole Holcomb, he isn’t currently available to justify his place on the team. Notably, he hasn’t even been around practice, as best we can tell, contrary to other players on PUP. And the reality is that the Steelers owe him $6 million in each of the next two years if he were on the 53-man roster.
Nobody can control injuries, and Holcomb was very unfortunate to suffer this under friendly-fire circumstances. While he came to the team with an injury history, this was a freak thing. At the same time, the Steelers have already moved on.
They signed Patrick Queen in free agency, giving him more than $13 million per year. That’s more than what they owe Cole Holcomb over the next two years combined. In addition to Queen, they also drafted Payton Wilson, who may be able to play very soon. And even if he can’t, they have Elandon Roberts and Mark Robinson on the ready. They even have Tyler Matakevich back.
Even if Holcomb does return this season, I don’t see him serving any function if all goes well. Queen and Roberts will start, the latter splitting time with Wilson. Wilson, Robinson, and Matakevich will play special teams.
The Steelers aren’t going to put Cole Holcomb on special teams, and I don’t think they play him over Wilson. That is assuming, of course, that everything works out. But let’s say we’re at the end of the preseason, and Holcomb is nowhere close to playing. Why should they put him on the Reserve/Injured List? We don’t even know how he would look even if he managed to make it back onto the field. They could probably release him and then re-sign him later for cheap if necessary. That’s the business side of the NFL, and the business often isn’t pretty.
The Steelers’ 2024 season is approaching, following another disappointing year that culminated in a first-round playoff loss. The only change-up in the annual formula lately is whether they exit early or 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 in training camp, and the preseason and the 2024 season are coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings, trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Some they managed to fill, others not so much. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
