Player: CB Cory Trice Jr.
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: After spending most of the season sidelined, Cory Trice Jr. has been back on the field the past two weeks. While he isn’t picking off any passes, he has played a lot—nearly 100 defensive snaps the past two games combined. That’s a solid sample size, nearly quadruple his previous combined experience, and the good news is the kid did okay.
Over the past two games, Cory Trice Jr. has played 96 defensive snaps and 36 special teams snaps. In that time, he has combined for eight tackles and one pass defensed. But he also made a couple plays that don’t go on the record, which we’ll get to.
Because of Joey Porter Jr.’s injury, Trice finally had the opportunity to see extensive playing time. He had been dealing with injury himself, his latest one coming after making his first career interception in Week 2. While he stayed on IR for some time, the Steelers also delayed playing him again. They opted to get by with James Pierre as their top backup, but I suspect they won’t do that anymore.
Not because Cory Trice is convincingly the next great Steelers cornerback, but because he is convincingly more dependable as an all-around defensive player than Pierre. And one can argue that has as much to do with Pierre as it does with Trice.
There isn’t anything overly remarkable about the three tackles Trice made, officially, against the Chiefs. He did make a tackle for no gain against Patrick Mahomes, which was negated by a holding penalty. He also recorded an “interception” on a two-point attempt, which doesn’t officially count. Prior to his no-play tackle on the Mahomes scramble, Trice also broke up a pass intended for DeAndre Hopkins.
Considering how badly things went for the Steelers defensively that day, Trice almost seemed like a glimmer of hope. We don’t know what his future will be like, and we should certainly exercise caution. But while he hasn’t played much, he has shown indications of ability. As mentioned, he should continue to dress as the top backup, and as a dime defender as well, now that he is back to full health and up and running.
As the season progresses, Steelers players’ stocks rise and fall. The nature of the evaluation differs with the time of year, with in-season considerations being more often short-term. Considerations in the offseason often have broader implications, particularly when players lose their jobs, or the team signs someone. This time of year is full of transactions, whether minor or major.
A bad game, a new contract, an injury, a promotion—any number of things affect a player’s value. Think of it as a stock on the market, based on speculation. You’ll feel better about a player after a good game, or worse after a bad one. Some stock updates are minor, while others are likely to be quite drastic, so bear in mind the degree. I’ll do my best to explain the nature of that in the reasoning section of each column.
