Steelers Keep ILB on PUP List

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without one of their starting linebackers for at least the first four games of the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers Cole Holcomb pulls dirt out of his helmet after recovering a fumble during the first half against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA on October 29, 2023. / Michael Longo/For USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers were hopeful Cole Holcomb would return following a season-ending injury in Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans last year, but the veteran linebacker doesn't appear any closer to contributing as his recovery has stagnated.

As the Steelers scrambled to finalize their 53-man roster on Tuesday, it was announced that Holcomb would remain on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list to begin the season, meaning he'll miss at least the first four games of the year.

Holcomb was initially placed on the active/PUP list at the start of training camp on July 24. Head coach Mike Tomlin expressed optimism regarding his potential availability at several points throughout the offseason, including as recently as June, though a return has yet to come to fruition.

A report from Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette during camp revealed that Holcomb was in fact not close to playing and was a candidate to either be waived or placed on injured reserve, which came as somewhat of a surprise given that the updates regarding his rehab were generally positive leading up to that point.

Holcomb's contract was restructured by Pittsburgh during camp, though the team still would have incurred a cap penalty of just over $5 million if they had released him ahead of the regular season.

Instead, the 28-year-old will move to the reserve/PUP list from the active/PUP list and will not count among the Steelers' active roster during cutdowns. It's still unclear, however, if a return is in the cards for later in the season.

Holcomb signed a three-year, $18 million deal with Pittsburgh as a free agent in March 2023 after spending the first four years of his career with the Washington Commanders, whom selected him in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft out of North Carolina.

He started all eight games he appeared in for the Steelers last season, recording 31 solo tackles, 23 assists and two forced fumbles along the way.

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