Player: CB Cory Trice Jr.
Stock Value: Down
Reasoning: With the Steelers investing in cornerback and heavily exploring the draft, Cory Trice Jr. is on his last legs. No pun intended—or intend it, if that is your style. After all, the fourth-year player has had a series of lower-body injuries that would fit the bill. Missing two entire seasons due to injury and with just a cameo in the other, he needs a near-flawless summer.
The Steelers were inordinately excited about drafting Cory Trice Jr. in the seventh round in 2023. Based on pure talent, it seemed like a steal, but the major caveat attached to him proved prescient. Facing injury concerns, Trice’s draft stock has largely been fair.
After all, in three years, Trice has only played in six games, including 193 defensive snaps. He recorded an interception on one of those snaps, and in the end zone, no less. But otherwise, he has just been the “upside guy” to fantasize about.
This offseason, the Steelers re-signed Asante Samuel Jr. and added Jamel Dean in free agency. They are looking hard at this year’s cornerback class, and it seems a given they will add one by the end of the third round, or the fourth round at worst. With Joey Porter Jr., Brandin Echols, and Jalen Ramsey already in the mix, Cory Trice’s path to a roster spot is already a treacherous one. Throwing a rookie in there, which is likely, may even make it borderline impossible.
At 6-3 and with some muscle to him, Trice is a guy who looks like a great cornerback. But his numerous injuries, some of them quite serious, have repeatedly let him down. He missed his rookie year with a torn ACL. Last year, while attempting to come back from IR with a hamstring injury, he injured his knee.
To make matters worse, the coaching staff that may have been loyal to him is gone. The Steelers even lost DB coach Gerald Alexander, whom they fought to keep. The new staff may come in, look at Cory Trice, and see the potential. But they won’t stick with him through thick and thin if he can’t stay on the practice field.
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the playoffs on the roster.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are that they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.
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