Nearly 14 months after sustaining a horrific knee injury, inside linebacker Cole Holcomb returned to practice for the first time and has a chance to be added to the 53-man roster before the end of the season.
Holcomb remains on the reserved/physically unable to perform list, but his return to the practice field opens a 21-day window in which the team can choose to put him on the active roster.
More importantly, it was a significant moment for the sixth-year linebacker who feared he might not play again when he dislocated his knee and damaged multiple ligaments in a Nov. 2, 2023, game against the Tennessee Titans.
“There was that question,” Holcomb said Tuesday after practice. “But they told me if you go to work, you can come back and be good.”
And that’s what Holcomb did.
He was already one of the team’s fastest defensive players and proved that when he was timed at more than 20 mph in speed drills during his recovery.
Holcomb, 28, said he became more determined to return to the field when he and his wife, Casey, gave birth to their first child, Morgan, on June 28.
“They count on you, your wife and kid,” Holcomb said. “It definitely changed the way you think, your outlook.”
In addition to Holcomb, a pair of rookie draft choices — receiver Roman Wilson and defensive end Logan Lee — returned to the practice field. They remain on injured reserve and have 21 days to be added to the 53-man roster.
Holcomb said he did not know if the Steelers will activate him to the active roster before the end of the season, but, if nothing else, he would provide fresh legs to a unit that includes Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts and rookie Payton Wilson.
It would be a nice reward for his hard work. Holcomb signed a three-year, $18 million contract in free agency before the 2023 season to be the Steelers’ every-down linebacker. At the time of his injury, he had 54 tackles, four tackles for loss and two forced fumbles.
“He’s worked so hard over the past year,” outside linebacker Alex Highsmith said. “It’s just awesome seeing him back out there because of how gruesome his injury was. Anyone who has had a bad injury, just to get back out there is awesome to see.”
Wilson, the team’s third-round choice from Michigan, remains an intriguing possibility, if only because of the lack of production from the wide receiver group, other than George Pickens.
However, after being injured on the first day of padded practices at training camp, Wilson has missed so much time the Steelers don’t have any expectation the 5-foot-10, 186-pound rookie can be any type of significant contributor this season.
First Published: December 31, 2024, 8:18 p.m.
Updated: January 1, 2025, 2:42 a.m.