ORLANDO, Fla. — When the Pittsburgh Steelers gave vague signals on the injury status of linebacker Cole Holcomb and then signed Patrick Queen, the immediate reaction was not a good one. After all, Holcomb suffered a severe knee injury and needed surgery. But Holcomb did post a video of himself working out earlier in the week and it seems that he is improving. But Mike Tomlin said on Sunday that he still does not have a definitive update on him.
“He just had a checkup a few weeks back and it was a favorable one, but I don’t have any details about calendar from a calendar perspective or levels of availability and when I still think we are decent ways out and I’d be speculating,” Tomlin said.
Holcomb was chasing down Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the second quarter of that game when teammate Keanu Neal tackled Hopkins and swung around his body. Neal’s left leg impacted Holcomb’s left leg right below Holcomb’s knee, buckling it backward.
Holcomb, 27, is a fifth-year linebacker out of North Carolina. After spending his first four seasons in Washington, he joined the Steelers last March on a three-year free-agent contract.
Through seven games, Holcomb was second on the team with 52 tackles, and also had four tackles for loss, one quarterback hit, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, and two passes defended. But moving forward, it is unknown just when he will be ready to return to the filed. For now, Queen and Elandon Roberts are the starters. But that does not mean the team is done scouting linebackers.
Linebackers coach Aaron Curry went to Ohio State and Kentucky pro days to scout Tommy Eichenberg, Steele Chambers, and Trevin Wallace. The most notable of those players, Wallace, a 6-foot-1, 237-pound junior linebacker, ran a 4.51-second 40-yard dash and a 37.5-inch vertical jump at the NFL Combine. In his three seasons at Kentucky, he recorded 166 tackles, including an 80-tackle season in 2023. He also had 8.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.