Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin fielded a lot of questions from the media over the opening hours of the NFL’s owner meetings. The hot topic was former New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers, of course. But Tomlin also took questions about two players who suffered serious injuries in the last two seasons, LB Cole Holcomb and P Cameron Johnston.
Holcomb missed the entirety of the 2024 NFL season after suffering a serious knee injury in 2023 that jeopardized his career. Understandably, people have been curious if Holcomb would be back on the field in Pittsburgh for 2025. Tomlin was asked Monday morning if he’ll be ready to go this season, per video from Steelers.com.
“Yes he is, training camp, yes,” said Tomlin.
The Steelers and Holcomb agreed to a reworked contract early in March to help clear some cap space. That helped solidify Holcomb’s roster spot this offseason. If he’s truly healthy, he’ll have a chance to solidify a spot in the linebacker rotation with Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson. He was playing well in 2023 before suffering the knee injury, starting eight games with 54 total tackles, for tackles for a loss, two passes knocked down, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and two quarterback hits.
As for Cameron Johnston, the Steelers signed him last offseason to help stabilize the punter position. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 1 against the Atlanta Falcons. And the injury was to his kicking leg, obviously a leg very important to punters.
But Johnston gave Steelers fans a positive update in March, posting a video to Instagram showing him punting for the first time since suffering the injury. Naturally, the media asked Tomlin if Johnston would be ready to resume his punting duties in 2025.
“Yes,” said Tomlin per a transcript from the team.
It’s good to hear positive news on the injury front from the Steelers. While Cole Holcomb may not be the top linebacker on the roster, he could play a vital role in the rotation if he’s healthy and back to the level he was playing at prior to his injury. And while P Corliss Waitman did set a Steelers record for average net yardage per punt at 41.9 yards, that’s below Cameron Johnston’s career average of 42.2. So, a healthy Johnston could be exactly what the Steelers need at punter.
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