The Pittsburgh Steelers have a rut at inside linebacker. After selecting Washington’s Carson Bruener in the seventh round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh will have tough decisions to make in that room.
The return of veteran linebacker Cole Holcomb should be one that boosts the room overall. Yet, his return from a career-threatening injury does not guarantee a return to form.
Mike DeFabo of The Athletic theorizes that Holcomb could be one of the surprise cut candidates that people do not see coming this training camp.
”Cole Holcomb, who was once a do-everything, three-down inside linebacker before a gruesome knee injury derailed his career in 2023,” DeFabo wrote. “I think Holcomb makes the team, but I’m unsure about the other.”
It took Holcomb, 28, a long time to even get to a point where doctors would clear him after a multi-ligament knee injury, but he did touch the practice field last year before the season ended.
Holcomb was even ready to suit up in the playoffs if the Steelers needed him to, even though he would tell you himself that was not the best idea.
At one point, Holcomb thought he would never return to football and admitted he had contemplated retirement.
“It was a serious injury,” Holcomb said. “You all saw it. It was pretty gruesome. They were emphasizing how important the rehab was going to be. If guys don’t take it serious and don’t put the work in, they won’t make it back. If you put the work in, you do the extra stuff, you come every day no matter how bad you don’t want to, you can come back from this.”
Holcomb started in eight games for the Steelers in 2023, racking up 54 tackles, two pass deflections, two forced fumbles, and four tackles for loss in those games.
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