Pittsburgh Steelers CB Cory Trice Jr.’s 21-day window to return has expired, meaning he’ll spend the rest of the season on injured reserve. He is not eligible to practice or return to the 53-man roster the rest of the year.
The NFL’s Wednesday transaction sheet noted Trice was not activated and his window has officially closed.
Wednesday was the final day for the Steelers to activate Trice off IR. They opted not to, presumably due to the knee injury he suffered shortly after resuming practice. Pittsburgh opened his window on Oct. 29 from a summer hamstring injury. He practiced that Wednesday but sustained a knee injury during Thursday’s practice. He has been held out of every practice since then.
Details about his knee injury are not known. Trice was spotted in a recent video talking to rapper Harry Mack. He could be seen here introducing himself and doesn’t appear to have a brace on his leg. He is seemingly walking around fine, though he’s wearing sweatpants, and the clip offers a limited view. That suggests the injury isn’t severe but significant enough to hold him out of the last three weeks.
It’s the third time in three years Trice has spent time on injured reserve, and the second season in which he’s spent the entire regular season on it. He missed his rookie year after tearing his ACL during the first padded practice of training camp. In 2024, he made it through the summer healthy and earned a role in Pittsburgh’s dime packages, recording his first NFL interception in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos. But he suffered a hamstring injury the following week and landed on injured reserve.
He returned late in the 2024 season, seeing snaps down the stretch, including a tough matchup against Cincinnati Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase.
As we noted early this month, Trice’s injury history is long. Since his senior year of high school, he’s suffered a broken ankle, a high-ankle sprain, two ACL tears (one in each knee), two hamstring injuries, and this current undisclosed knee ailment. His upside has been that of a long and physical defensive back with a cornerback and safety background.
Drafted in the seventh round in 2023 out of Purdue, Trice has appeared in six NFL games with one start. He’s recorded 21 tackles, two pass breakups, and one interception. His rookie contract runs through 2026. He could be brought back to training camp next summer, though his injury history makes him impossible to trust, and it wouldn’t be a shock if Pittsburgh cut ties with Trice in the offseason.
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