The curious case of Cole Holcomb

[madinsomniac]

Today, lets discuss a guy many probably forgot is even on the Roster... Cole Holcomb.
Remember him? He was probably the best ILB on the Steelers last season, before a knee injury wiped out the back end of his season, as well as the start of this one...

Right now he is on the PUP list
I know I am getting a little ahead of myself here, he isnt even eligible to come back until after the Colts game, but I thought that maybe it was time to wonder about what the Steelers are gonna do when he gets healthy enough to return...

The Steelers have four guys who are certainly expected to return at some point this year.. (others on IR could, but its less certain)
One is Holcomb, who is on the PUP list.. he can come back after week 4...
then there is Sutton, who is on the exempt list until week 9
Finally Olb Jeremiah Moon and OT Dylan Cook are on IR/ designated for return ... if healthy both can return after the colts game...

But the latter three play positions with massive injury issues right now...

At CB the slot position was thin to start and outside CB is down Rush and Trice right now

Highsmith may miss time at OLB

And the OLine went from really deep to shallow in a heartbeat.. Herbig is gone for the year, Fautanu is out for at least the regular season, Seumalo has yet to play this year.. Cook is a young guy with starter potential, him coming back would add much needed depth to the T position now..

But ILB is, for now, relatively healthy.. Only special teamer Tyler Matakevich is on IR, but he wasnt a guy playing DSnaps anyways...the other 4 arent even on the injury report for anything.. (yet...lol)

Now perhaps by the time Holcomb comes back, there are injuries to replace... but if not, he may not be thrilled with his role...

Right now Queen is the #1 Will.... Holcomb's preferred position.. one might argue that Payton Wilson would be the top backup there... Roberts is the SAM.. a role that suits him more than holcomb... Robinson would be the main backup there as a thumper...

Holcomb signed a three year deal, meaning he is here next year too.. barring injury, he wont be more than the #3 guy here...

So i guess the question is, if he comes back... does the team:
- cut someone to make a spot for him.. bear in mind cutting Robinson kneecaps special teams, where Holcomb isnt gonna play, and he really isnt the SAM type for this D... also the injury issues elsewhere means we will need extra spots to add temp CBs and OL guys..
- trade him ... he may be open to a better path to starting elsewhere and he could bring back a guy who helps at an injury riddled position...
- just release him
- trade another ILB to make room for him... again, they arent trading Queen or Wilson.. and he is redundant with them..

I dont really have a solution.. maybe they leave him on the pup and deal with him in the offseason..
but to come back, he has to be taken off the PUP by week 9 and once activated, he has 21 days before he must be put on the active roster, taking up a spot...

 

[slashsteel]

I think they leave him on the pup unless he shows he is 100 percent recovered in practice. I think by then it is past the trade deadline if I had to guess. Fresh legs could help the D plus by then I am lookin at if all the ILBers remained healthy.

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

Cook is not good. I look for a serious tackle pick up off the trash heap today.

 

[topseed]

Keep him on the PUP until week 9, unless injury dictates a different approach. You can never have enough depth at ILB, in my opinion. If Holcomb is healthy, he is valuable to this team. They'll make a spot available for him when they need to.

 

[MT~Forged]

So, it looks like Queen and the Rookie Wilson are playing the same spot right now. Do the Steelers move one of them eventually, so as to eventually start both?

 

[madinsomniac]

Cook is not good. I look for a serious tackle pick up off the trash heap today.

Cook was extremely raw coming out but had what one guy called first round athleticism and intelligence..

 

[Black & Gold Bleeder]

Cook was extremely raw coming out but had what one guy called first round athleticism and intelligence..

we still picked up another tackle and told spencer to take reps at RT.

 

[Ike Kelly]

Today, lets discuss a guy many probably forgot is even on the Roster... Cole Holcomb.
Remember him? He was probably the best ILB on the Steelers last season, before a knee injury wiped out the back end of his season, as well as the start of this one...

Right now he is on the PUP list
I know I am getting a little ahead of myself here, he isnt even eligible to come back until after the Colts game, but I thought that maybe it was time to wonder about what the Steelers are gonna do when he gets healthy enough to return...

The Steelers have four guys who are certainly expected to return at some point this year.. (others on IR could, but its less certain)
One is Holcomb, who is on the PUP list.. he can come back after week 4...
then there is Sutton, who is on the exempt list until week 9
Finally Olb Jeremiah Moon and OT Dylan Cook are on IR/ designated for return ... if healthy both can return after the colts game...

But the latter three play positions with massive injury issues right now...

At CB the slot position was thin to start and outside CB is down Rush and Trice right now

Highsmith may miss time at OLB

And the OLine went from really deep to shallow in a heartbeat.. Herbig is gone for the year, Fautanu is out for at least the regular season, Seumalo has yet to play this year.. Cook is a young guy with starter potential, him coming back would add much needed depth to the T position now..

But ILB is, for now, relatively healthy.. Only special teamer Tyler Matakevich is on IR, but he wasnt a guy playing DSnaps anyways...the other 4 arent even on the injury report for anything.. (yet...lol)

Now perhaps by the time Holcomb comes back, there are injuries to replace... but if not, he may not be thrilled with his role...

Right now Queen is the #1 Will.... Holcomb's preferred position.. one might argue that Payton Wilson would be the top backup there... Roberts is the SAM.. a role that suits him more than holcomb... Robinson would be the main backup there as a thumper...

Holcomb signed a three year deal, meaning he is here next year too.. barring injury, he wont be more than the #3 guy here...

So i guess the question is, if he comes back... does the team:
- cut someone to make a spot for him.. bear in mind cutting Robinson kneecaps special teams, where Holcomb isnt gonna play, and he really isnt the SAM type for this D... also the injury issues elsewhere means we will need extra spots to add temp CBs and OL guys..
- trade him ... he may be open to a better path to starting elsewhere and he could bring back a guy who helps at an injury riddled position...
- just release him
- trade another ILB to make room for him... again, they arent trading Queen or Wilson.. and he is redundant with them..

I dont really have a solution.. maybe they leave him on the pup and deal with him in the offseason..
but to come back, he has to be taken off the PUP by week 9 and once activated, he has 21 days before he must be put on the active roster, taking up a spot...

Mad, wasn’t Holcomb’s contract restructured after he had the setback in the summer? A couple of the beat writers said it was to allow for a possible IR designation for the year or outright release once off the PUP list. Such an unfortunate situation for a very good player who fit the role needed. That injury was pretty bad. I thought it was pretty much career ending with the knee history already. But he was seriously rehabbing after the surgery.

 

[madinsomniac]

Mad, wasn’t Holcomb’s contract restructured after he had the setback in the summer? A couple of the beat writers said it was to allow for a possible IR designation for the year or outright release once off the PUP list. Such an unfortunate situation for a very good player who fit the role needed. That injury was pretty bad. I thought it was pretty much career ending with the knee history already. But he was seriously rehabbing after the surgery.

Tomlin and Kahn both have said they expected him back this season. He restructured after they drafted Wilson(ilb)... some others speculated it made trading him easier... others thought it was to keep the team from outright cutting him with an injury settlement since he wouldnt be ready week 1.

The injury was like spense's ... dulac had speculated he was gonna miss time into the season cause even after it healed, it would need lots of time to strengthen it...

 

[FordFairLane]

My guess is we leave him on the PUP until he’s needed or week 9. Seumalo was expected to miss a month so he has a shot at coming back for the cowboys game. Probably not is my guess. Cook can and likely will be back for the Cowboys game. That should help the tackle spot as he can play both positions and even guard.

 

[Stryker]

Tomlin and Kahn both have said they expected him back this season. He restructured after they drafted Wilson(ilb)... some others speculated it made trading him easier... others thought it was to keep the team from outright cutting him with an injury settlement since he wouldnt be ready week 1.

The injury was like spense's ... dulac had speculated he was gonna miss time into the season cause even after it healed, it would need lots of time to strengthen it...

#1 you don't need to injury settlement a player making league minimum that has also made 9 pro bowls. You stash him and get him back to 100% You Cameron Sutton the guy. Have him for the 2nd half of the season, and the best part, this is the first time in RW's career, he isn't forced to come back before he's 100%.

You also can't make **** up about player injuries when I track them. Russel Wilson was a calf injury. I'm thinking it's tendonitis or Achilles related. You don't **** with that on a QB, or you get Marino rupturing it during non contact. Sean Spence DESTROYED his knee. ACL/MCL/ AND Dislocated Kneecap. It wasn't a nagging injury, it was a complete knee reconstruction that would also involve the meniscus. Dude was lucky to walk again.

 

[madinsomniac]

#1 you don't need to injury settlement a player making league minimum that has also made 9 pro bowls. You stash him and get him back to 100% You Cameron Sutton the guy. Have him for the 2nd half of the season, and the best part, this is the first time in RW's career, he isn't forced to come back before he's 100%.

You also can't make **** up about player injuries when I track them. Russel Wilson was a calf injury. I'm thinking it's tendonitis or Achilles related. You don't **** with that on a QB, or you get Marino rupturing it during non contact. Sean Spence DESTROYED his knee. ACL/MCL/ AND Dislocated Kneecap. It wasn't a nagging injury, it was a complete knee reconstruction that would also involve the meniscus. Dude was lucky to walk again.

#1 you don't need to injury settlement a player making league minimum that has also made 9 pro bowls. You stash him and get him back to 100% You Cameron Sutton the guy. Have him for the 2nd half of the season, and the best part, this is the first time in RW's career, he isn't forced to come back before he's 100%.

You also can't make **** up about player injuries when I track them. Russel Wilson was a calf injury. I'm thinking it's tendonitis or Achilles related. You don't **** with that on a QB, or you get Marino rupturing it during non contact. Sean Spence DESTROYED his knee. ACL/MCL/ AND Dislocated Kneecap. It wasn't a nagging injury, it was a complete knee reconstruction that would also involve the meniscus. Dude was lucky to walk again.

Lol the discussion was about Holcomb, not Wilson ... the only wilson being talked about is the ILB

 

[Ike Kelly]

#1 you don't need to injury settlement a player making league minimum that has also made 9 pro bowls. You stash him and get him back to 100% You Cameron Sutton the guy. Have him for the 2nd half of the season, and the best part, this is the first time in RW's career, he isn't forced to come back before he's 100%.

You also can't make **** up about player injuries when I track them. Russel Wilson was a calf injury. I'm thinking it's tendonitis or Achilles related. You don't **** with that on a QB, or you get Marino rupturing it during non contact. Sean Spence DESTROYED his knee. ACL/MCL/ AND Dislocated Kneecap. It wasn't a nagging injury, it was a complete knee reconstruction that would also involve the meniscus. Dude was lucky to walk again.

Spence’s injury was absolutely catastrophic. You are right Stryker, that injury looked so bad I thought his career was over, and he needed to concentrate on being able to ambulate normally after rehab. A very promising player when PIT drafted him. Looking back, man we were loaded at ILB at that before his injury. Timmons, Bince Williams, Shazier, Spence. Then a couple years later only one remained.

 

[Drink IRON City]

Keep him on the PUP until week 9, unless injury dictates a different approach. You can never have enough depth at ILB, in my opinion. If Holcomb is healthy, he is valuable to this team. They'll make a spot available for him when they need to.

^^^^^This ^^^^^


Salute the nation

 

[madinsomniac]

Spence’s injury was absolutely catastrophic. You are right Stryker, that injury looked so bad I thought his career was over, and he needed to concentrate on being able to ambulate normally after rehab. A very promising player when PIT drafted him. Looking back, man we were loaded at ILB at that before his injury. Timmons, Bince Williams, Shazier, Spence. Then a couple years later only one remained.

You are right, Spence's was more severe, he almost lost a leg do to blood vessel damage, but I was talking about the type of hyperextension... Holcombs was pretty bad... it wasnt gonna be a short recovery time, but I think everyone was expecting him to play at some point this season