Mike Tomlin Expects Cole Holcomb to Participate in Training Camp

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers expect linebacker Cole Holcomb to be ready to participate in the team’s training in July, head coach Mike Tomlin said on Wednesday. Holcomb suffered a severe knee injury last season and is working to return to the field, and it seems that he is getting closer.

“I’m sure he is (on track for training camp) I don’t have a lot of details about the specifics of it, but at every checkpoint, I think the experts are comfortable with the progress and I know he’s working extremely hard,” Tomlin said.

That is excellent news for the Steelers and their linebackers. Linebackers coach Aaron Curry believes that each of the four linebackers has a superpower that he can use. Holcomb’s is the steadiness that he brings to the table, and Curry feels that Holcomb is an all-around performer for the team.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb watches from the sideline during his team’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium on Oct. 29, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Holcomb is continuing to rehab the knee injury that sidelined him for over half of last season. That injury occurred when Keanu Neal whipped his leg around into Holcomb, causing his knee to hyperextend. That caused significant damage, and Holcomb had surgery on the injury. What exactly the injury was is still unknown. Still, it was severe enough that general manager Omar Khan made it a mission to address the inside linebacker position by signing Patrick Queen and drafting Payton Wilson.

Joining a room with Elandon Roberts already there, the four inside linebackers should create the deepest room at the linebacker spot for the Steelers in recent memory. Queen is expected to be the green dot player, and Holcomb is a wild card as he recovers, but it seems that Pittsburgh will be at full strength in that room this year.