Pittsburgh Steelers LB Cole Holcomb’s promising 2023 season came to an abrupt halt after he suffered a serious knee injury in Week 8 against the Tennessee Titans, and that injury also caused him to miss the entire 2024 season. While Holcomb returned to practice late last season, he never got back on the field, but he’s fully healthy with OTAs underway, and Holcomb reflected on his injury Tuesday while speaking to the media after practice.
“Looking back, you never know, one play can end your season. You take stuff for granted. So now I’m just soaking everything up, enjoying it, having fun out there,” Holcomb said [via video posted by Chris Adamski of TribLive on Twitter](https://twitter.com/c_adamskitrib/status/1929934869666136076?s=46). “When we got here, it was kind of just business as usual, but it felt great to be back out with the guys.”
The Steelers signed Holcomb prior to the 2023 season, he assumed a key role in Pittsburgh’s defense that season. He started all eight games and amassed 54 total tackles and two forced fumbles while working in a rotation with Elandon Roberts and Kwon Alexander before getting hurt. Not having Holcomb last season led the Steelers to rely on a rotation of Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts and Payton Wilson, but Holcomb should be firmly back in the mix with Queen and Wilson this season.
It can’t be easy to have to sit and watch for a full season and a half as Holcomb had to do, and even getting back on the practice field can be a morale booster.
Patrick Queen [said Holcomb looks like he did pre-injury](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/05/stoked-for-him-patrick-queen-says-cole-holcomb-looks-good-working-back-from-knee-injury/) and added that he’s excited for him to work in the inside linebacker rotation. If Holcomb can play the way he did to begin his Steelers tenure, he could be a nice piece alongside Queen and Wilson and help replace the void left when Roberts signed with the Las Vegas Raiders.
It’s been a long road back for Cole Holcomb, and even though he practiced toward the end of last season, it always felt unlikely he’d hit the field in 2024. Now, he can practice knowing that he’s going to be back out there with his teammates against a common opponent sooner rather than later, and he’s feeling good about where he is.