The Pittsburgh Steelers have a decision to make about ILB Cole Holcomb in the near future. Owed $6 million this season, his compensation includes a $2 million roster bonus due in March. The Steelers brought him in as a starter, but he hasn’t played in a year and a half.
Holcomb suffered a severe knee injury in the middle of the 2023 season, and he hasn’t played since. Even he admitted that there were times he questioned his future in the NFL. The Steelers allowed him to return to practice at the end of the season, but likely with no intention of playing him. Gerry Dulac at the time believed he had a legitimate shot of being activated to the 53-man roster.
According to Mark Kaboly, though, Cole Holcomb “worked out a lot over the final few months” for the Steelers. While he was on the PUP List, he was free to do his own thing, just unable to practice with the team. Kaboly added that this “should have allowed the Steelers to decide whether or not that severe knee injury won’t be an issue moving forward.”
To translate that a bit, he is saying the Steelers should have a sense of whether Holcomb’s knee will prevent him from playing again. Obviously, they have been with him every day. But Kaboly claims that Holcomb has been working out considerably for an extended time now.
Still, Holcomb’s health is only one variable in determining his future with the Steelers. To begin with, they already moved on, signing Patrick Queen and drafting Payton Wilson. Those are their starters moving forward, and Holcomb isn’t exactly a special teams guy.
There is also the question of Elandon Roberts, who brings a more physical element to the Steelers’ linebacking corps. Do they think Holcomb could add that physicality as the third player? He was a quality starter for the first half of the 2023 season, their every-down linebacker.
But he hasn’t played in a year and a half, so how close can he come to that level again? And would the Steelers even want to rotate linebackers if they have Queen and a second-year Wilson? Of course, they need depth, but Holcomb might not even dress for games depending on how the rest of the room is filled out.
Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggested that Cole Holcomb is a special circumstance among the Steelers’ potential roster cuts. While he feels unlikely to remain with a $6 million compensation package, he could return on a reduced salary.
Elandon Roberts is a free agent, but he should not be expensive to re-sign. Queen and Wilson aren’t going anywhere, and Mark Robinson is going into the final season of his rookie contract. The latter has become a core special teams player for the Steelers. The truth is they don’t need Cole Holcomb. But if they could get him back and he can still play, that would be quite a bonus.
