The Pittsburgh Steelers have wrapped up OTAs, and it has been a fruitful time for the team as they prepare for the summer. It is always great to have football, even just football in shorts, back.
While storylines this early on don’t always impact the final roster, it is certainly worth noting when a player shines. It was just a few years ago that an unknown Mike Hilton was making waves in OTAs before he took command of the slot role on defense.
This season, Cole Holcomb shone during practices, showing he is fully healthy after missing the 2024 season. He looked like his old self after a season stuck on injured reserve. After what some thought was a career-ending injury, Holcomb looks comfortable and has returned to form.
For Mark Robinson, this is nothing short of a disaster.
Despite sticking around on the Steelers for the majority of his rookie contract, Robinson faces an uphill battle to make the roster this season. Holcomb returning to form further harms those chances of him playing in Pittsburgh for a fourth season.
The Pittsburgh Steelers may no longer need Mark Robinson
The top of the linebacker room is already set in stone. Patrick Queen hopes to entrench himself after an up-and-down first season in Pittsburgh. Payton Wilson is an early breakout candidate and should be the other primary starter.
After that, the depth chart is pretty open. Malik Harrison was a roster lock, although his role could vary from a third linebacker akin to Elandon Roberts to just a core special teams player.
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Holcomb was the proverbial wild card. He just as easily could have appeared rusty or have lost a step from his injury. If that were the case, he would be on the bubble and likely cut unless his play returned to form.
His strong start puts him comfortably in the driver’s seat for the third role in the linebacker room. Harrison will be the fourth, and that leaves a tough battle between Robinson and seventh-round pick Carson Bruener fighting for a fifth spot, assuming the Steelers even keep that many linebackers.
While Robinson has flashed on special teams and defense, Pittsburgh has never seemed to favor him. They constantly tried to keep him off the field, and last season, he was relegated to just a special teams role.
Entering a contract year, this seems like his last offseason with the Steelers, either way. That said, Bruener also projects as a good special teams player. His rookie contract is just starting. Assuming he can play as well on special teams as Robinson, there is little reason to keep him around.
Holcomb’s strong start really makes Robinson’s road to the roster that much harder. He needs to prove that he is leaps and bounds better on special teams than anyone else to make the team. That said, you can’t like his odds at this point.