Cole Holcomb did what few others could. What few even thought was possible. As devastating as his 2023 knee injury was, it’s made his relationship with football all the closer. And his story is helping others going through similar journeys.
Sidelined for nearly two years by a November knee injury that immediately sent him to the hospital and soon after, a long rehab, Holcomb opened up about getting back to the football field.
“It was wild. Hurt, hurt bad,” Holcomb told Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley in a recent feature piece. “I knew I messed it up pretty bad. In that moment, they were coming out, running their tests and I just wanted to get off the field.
“I knew it was a bad injury. I was just telling them, ‘Get the cart out here and get me out of here so we can do it back, not in front of everybody.'”
It was a freak accident. S Keanu Neal collided with Holcomb in coverage, sending his teammate to the ground and clutching his left knee. Everyone knew immediately it was worst-case scenario. Teammates were emotional even before the training staff got to Holcomb.
Specifics of the injury have never been revealed. But it’s clear the injury was more than an ACL tear. Either Holcomb suffered multiple ligament damage or other injuries to his knee (dislocated kneecap, nerve damage, etc.) to keep him out the rest of 2023 and all of 2024. He returned to practice late in the season before being fully cleared for 2025 training camp, not missing a beat once he took the field.
Holcomb made the 53-man roster and quickly assumed a role in the lineup. To date, he’s appeared in seven games with three starts, recording 25 tackles and forcing one fumble.
While he’s been healthy, other teammates aren’t as fortunate. Special teams captain Miles Killebrew suffered a severe knee injury, believed to be a torn ACL, in Week 6. Like Holcomb, Killebrew’s on the long road to recovery. Holcomb is there to be leaned on.
“Killebrew would come in [during my rehab], and he is going through it now,” Holcomb said. “I was talking to him, and he said he was glad he came in there every day and saw what I went through because now he can prepare for that.”
No one wants to see a teammate go down. But Holcomb provides hope and a road map, living proof that it is possible to overcome long odds. Tuesday, he was honored as the team’s 2025 recipient of the Ed Block Courage Award.
Holcomb has missed the last two games and will sit out Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with an undisclosed illness, though he got back to practice Thursday. It’s a setback but one that pales in comparison to all he’s been through.
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