In a sea of chaotic roster moves this offseason, one of the more heartwarming stories for the Pittsburgh Steelers is the return of Cole Holcomb. The middle linebacker missed all of the 2024 season after suffering a gruesome leg injury halfway through the 2023 campaign.
Since Holcomb’s injury, the Steelers have completely revamped the linebacker room, adding Patrick Queen as the three-down answer and third-round pick Payton Wilson as a promising young option last offseason. Those two are now solidified as the starters in the middle of Pittsburgh’s talented defense, which doesn’t leave much room for Holcomb in the defense.
Cole Holcomb’s Pittsburgh Steelers return is inspiring, but his roster path is crowded
The business side of the NFL isn’t often kind to players who find themselves in positions similar to Holcomb. He signed a three-year, $18 million contract in the 2023 offseason and has been largely unavailable for the majority of the deal.
While he’s already gotten back on the field at mini-camp, there are no guarantees that he’ll fit into the Steelers' plans in 2025. The team could very well cut him after training camp to save $2 million while eating just $1.64 million in dead money.
On top of last year’s additions at linebacker, the team also brought in Malik Harrison to help fill the void from the departed Elandon Roberts and drafted Washington’s Carson Breuner in the seventh round. If the Steelers are pleased with those two additions in camp, they could be justified in letting Holcomb go.
When Holcomb was brought in, he was a key fixture in the defense, playing in 77% of the Steelers' defensive snaps before his injury. Queen effectively filled his role and then some, though, as he played every single snap for the Steelers’ defense in 2024.
Wilson, on the other hand, played only 44% of the snaps while taking 66% of the Steelers' special teams plays. Still, the former North Carolina standout is likely to expand his role after a promising rookie campaign.
Holcomb hasn’t played much better than Wilson in coverage, and Harrison figures to be the goalline thumper if the Steelers stick to a similar rotation based on skillsets. If Holcomb can’t crack the lineup for passing situations and goalline and also isn’t a key figure on special teams, the Steelers lack much reason to hold onto him outside of depth in case of injury. He would then be a more reliable option than the likes of Harrison, Breuner, or Mark Robinson if he sticks with the team past camp.
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Still, Holbomb will get his reps in camp and if he looks like his old self, the Steelers will find room for him. Nonetheless, that’s a lot to ask of a guy who has played in just 15 games over the past three seasons.
Steelers fans are no doubt rooting for Holcomb to continue his career and to put an end to the injury concerns that have plagued his otherwise solid career, but there might be too much for him to overcome over the next month to make the final 53-man roster.