Cole Holcomb suffered a devastating knee injury in the Steelers win over the Titans. The linebacker spent the night at a local hospital, but was discharged Friday.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Network was the first to report the Holcomb news, Friday. Pelissero reported that the Steelers inside linebacker was kept overnight in the hospital as a precaution. He’ll will miss the rest of the season, but is expected to make a full recovery.
The Steelers signed Holcomb in the offseason to help shore up their inside linebacker unit. He quickly adapted to the Pittsburgh defense, with Holcomb starting all eight games. He posted 54 tackles. Plus, he also forced two fumbles, defended two passes with two quarterback hits. And he also registered four tackles for losses.
Steelers used Holcomb in 3-man rotation at ILB
The Commanders selected him in the fifth round in 2019. Holcomb starred at North Carolina, evolving from a walk-on as a freshman to second-team All-ACC his senior season.
He earned a starting job his rookie season with Washington. Over his four years there, he started 48 games. Holcomb struggled with injuries in 2022. He was healthy to start the season. But he injured his foot in game seven and had surgery to repair the damage in December. However, Holcomb excelled in 2021 with 142 tackles. He also posted two tackles for losses, a sack and two interceptions. That included a pick six.
His injury Thursday night happened when he collided with fellow Steelers teammate Keanu Neal. They both were chasing Titans receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who’d just caught a pass from quarterback Will Levis.
The injury was gruesome enough that Amazon Prime, which covers Thursday night games, didn’t want to show replays.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirmed after the game that Holcomb’s injury was a serious one. He also offered his thoughts and prayers.
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