Steelers Re-Work Contract of ILB Cole Holcomb, Create Significant Salary Cap Savings
The Pittsburgh Steelers and inside linebacker Cole Holcomb have agreed to a revised contract for the 2025 season, according to a report by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
The details of the new contract have not been reported, but Pelissero said that the change reduces his salary cap hit by $4 million for the 2025 season.
Holcomb is entering the third and final season of a three-year, $18 million deal he signed with the Steelers in 2023. Holcomb suffered a major knee injury midway through the 2023 season that caused him to miss all of 2024.
He and the team already revised the contract once, last summer, by introducing a split into his contract after the injury. Holcomb had been slated to earn $6 million in 2024. Instead, because he spent the entire regular season on the physically unable to perform list, he earned just $3.1 million.
Holcomb had been set to earn $6 million in 2025, with a $4 million salary and $2 million roster bonus due on March 14.
Holcomb now joins Patrick Queen, Payton Wilson and Mark Robinson as returning inside linebackers for the Steelers in 2025. Elandon Roberts and special teamer Tyler Matakevich are set to hit unrestricted free agency next week if they don’t re-sign.
In eight games with the Steelers in 2023, Holcomb made eight starts and recorded 54 tackles, four tackles for loss, two quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and two passes defended.
Originally a fifth-round pick of the Washington Redskins in 2019, Holcomb started four years in D.C. before a foot injury ended his 2022 season after just seven games. His best season statistically came in 2021, when he racked up 142 tackles to lead the Washington Football Team — by 43 tackles more than second-place safety Kamren Curl.
A native of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, Holcomb played collegiately at North Carolina.