Cole Holcomb could be fighting for his job, or a starting job, depending on how he plays this offseason. That was the message from Steelers DC Teryl Austin yesterday while discussing the veteran’s return from injury. In mid-2023, he suffered a severe knee injury that put his playing career in jeopardy.
After missing all of the 2024 season, Holcomb is back on the field—looking swole—ready to resume his career. The only problem is the Steelers didn’t plan for his return, nor should they have. Last year, they signed Patrick Queen in free agency and then drafted Payton Wilson.
Queen and Wilson are likely the Steelers’ starters going into 2025, and they also signed Malik Harrison. It’s hard to picture exactly where Cole Holcomb fits into all this, but his play can make that decision easy. He was a starter for the Steelers when he went down, so why not do it again?
“He’s an unbelievable worker, and so he’s getting himself back into football movements and shape and all those things”, Teryl Austin said of Holcomb, via the Steelers’ website. “And he’s gonna have to fight his tail off, because it is a different room than when he left. But I think he’ll be up for the challenge, and we’ll just see how that works out at camp and what it takes.
“The bottom line is whoever are the best players have to be on the field. And if he’s one of the best players, then we’ll find a way to get him on the field”.
The Steelers signed Cole Holcomb to modest starting money in 2023 on a three-year deal. Playing in seven-plus games, he recorded 54 tackles, including four for loss, with two forced fumbles and one recovery. While his playing time varied, he typically saw about 85 percent of the snaps before his injury. In his three full games prior to injury, he recorded 27 tackles, two for loss, with a pass defensed and fumble recovery.
Although it’s not clear how the Steelers might use Holcomb, they do tend to use more than two inside linebackers. Gone are the days of the every-down Macks and Bucks, the James Farrior-Larry Foote duo. In an era of sub-package football and specialization, it’s all about what you can do and when.
The problem is, the Steelers claim they view both Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson as every-down linebackers. So if they never come off the field, how does Holcomb get on it? They’re already trying to figure out how to get three outside linebackers on the field.
It all comes down to results, and if Cole Holcomb plays like a starter, the Steelers will have no choice but to play him, or so Austin would have us believe. Given his contract, I can’t see them taking Queen off the field. But if Holcomb looks better than Payton Wilson, then why not play him?
