Steelers Restructure Contract of ILB Cole Holcomb, Could Start Season on PUP List

The Pittsburgh Steelers have restructured the 2024 contract of inside linebacker Cole Holcomb, according to a report by Aaron Wilson of KPRC-TV in Houston and confirmed by Steelers Now.

The changes introduced a split to Holcomb’s contract that it did not previously contain, and also guaranteed a portion of the contract for this season. Holcomb is currently on the physically unable to perform list and has yet to participate in Steelers training camp. He is recovering from a major knee injury suffered last November.

Holcomb’s base salary will remain $6 million for the 2024 season. The split in his contract means that if he is on the PUP or injured reserve list for the full season, he will now only earn $3.1 million. That lower figure is guaranteed.

So what does this mean?

For one, it’s unlikely that there would be a need for a move like this if it didn’t seem that there’s a good chance that Holcomb will start the season on the PUP list. Players aren’t paid their salaries during training camp, so there won’t be any different between the regular and split salaries until Week 1.

Once Holcomb starts to miss games while on the PUP, he will be paid at the $3.1 million per year rate instead of the $6 million per year rate. Players that start the regular season on the reserve/PUP list must miss at least four games. So if Holcomb misses the minimum amount of time, he’ll make $688,889 over the first four weeks, instead of the $1.3 million he had been scheduled to make. Players on the PUP list can return at any time starting in Week 5, and up to Week 12. At that point, players remaining on the PUP list must remain there for the remainder of the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb rides of on a cart after injuring his left knee in a game against the Tennessee Titans on Nov. 2, 2023. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Why this makes sense for the Steelers

The club will save both cash and cap space if Holcomb misses playing time in the 2024 season thanks to his injury. Assuming that Holcomb starts the year on the PUP, the Steelers will get to decide mid-season if they want to activate Holcomb at that time, or they can release him later, paying only the guaranteed portion of his salary. The Steelers also retain Holcomb’s rights and contract for 2025. Essentially, the Steelers are buying insurance here. They’re paying $3.1 million in guarantees to avoid the possibility of paying $6 million to a player that might not play. 

The Steelers could also have protected themselves from having to pay an injured player by releasing Holcomb, and paying him an injury settlement for the portion of the season that he is expected to miss, but that would have eliminated the ability to have him under team control for the rest of 2024 and all of 2025.

Why this makes sense for Holcomb

Holcomb gets protection against being released in the form of the $3.1 million guarantee. After the Steelers paid him a $4.9 million signing bonus last year, there was no further guaranteed money on his contract.

Analysis

This seems like a prudent deal for both sides. It doesn’t seem to be the kind of move that necessarily is setting something else up here, so I’d caution into reading too much into it. Until/unless Holcomb actually misses time, there won’t be any impact on the team’s salary cap situation.

As far as on-the-field impacts, you can expect Payton Wilson to start the season as the Dime linebacker, and he’ll also probably work in some Nickel situations in obvious passing downs, with Elandon Roberts taking the run-down Nickel reps along with Patrick Queen and that dup playing in the base defense. If/when Holcomb returns, he could work some of the Nickel reps that Roberts and/or Wilson would be otherwise taking.

This move is also an indication that the Steelers believe that there is value in retaining Holcomb’s rights for the 2025 season. He has a $2 million roster bonus due in the third day of the 2025 league year next March and is scheduled to earn $4 million in salary next season.

The biggest piece of news here is that there seems to be a good chance that Holcomb will not be healthy enough to start the regular season on the active roster.

RELATED: Steelers ILB Cole Holcomb is ‘Not At All Worried’ About Injury History, Almost Ready to Get Back to Work