The Pittsburgh Steelers may part ways with linebacker Cole Holcomb when they set their 53-man roster this weekend, a move that would close a chapter on a veteran who returned from a serious knee injury only to find himself crowded out by numbers and depth.
Roster math is driving the conversation more than any single preseason snap. The Steelers appear prepared to keep four quarterbacks, a luxury most clubs refuse to spend.
Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph already occupy the top two spots. Rookies Drew Allar and Will Howard are expected to get extended looks Thursday night against the Buffalo Bills, and team insiders increasingly believe both will stick.
Most NFL teams carry three quarterbacks. If Pittsburgh keeps all four, another position group has to shrink. Linebacker is one of the most crowded rooms on the roster, which is why Holcomb has surfaced as a leading cut candidate.
Mike DeFabo of The Athletic projected Holcomb among the players Pittsburgh will release when the final roster takes shape. The Steelers signed Holcomb this offseason to a two-year, $5 million contract. Cutting him would leave $625,000 in dead money, according to DeFabo.
That is not a crushing cap hit, but it is real money for a player who no longer projects as a three-down regular. Holcomb turns 30 this season. He was a fifth-round pick by Washington in 2019 and quickly became a tackle machine, posting 102 combined tackles as a rookie and a career-high 142 tackles plus two interceptions in 2021, when he started every game.
Injuries followed. He played only seven games in 2022 because of a knee problem. Pittsburgh then signed him to a three-year, $18 million deal. Midway through that first Steelers season, he suffered a severe knee injury that included torn ligaments and a dislocated kneecap. He missed all of 2024.
Last season he returned and played in 14 games, mostly in a reserve role.
The organization still valued him enough to bring him back on the new two-year pact. Then it signed Elandon Roberts to a one-year, $1,487,500 contract. Roberts is a veteran middle linebacker who can play on early downs. That addition made it easier, on paper, to move on from Holcomb.
The rest of the linebacker group is loaded. T.J. Watt remains the face of the defense. Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig give the Steelers proven pass rushers. Patrick Queen is expected to wear the green dot and play nearly every snap in the middle. Payton Wilson has shown range in coverage and has worked as Queen’s partner in base packages. Jack Sawyer and Carson Bruener add youth and special-teams value.
With so many bodies who can play, coaches can justify trimming one veteran. Pittsburgh also has other roster pressures.
First-round offensive lineman Max Iheanachor has been dealing with an injury, which increases the need to keep extra blockers. Tight end Robert Tonyan could earn a third tight end spot because of his history with Rodgers. Those needs push the cuts toward running back or linebacker.
Holcomb still has traits that matter. He can come downhill against the run and contribute on special teams. He has already shown he can return from a career-threatening injury. Those qualities are why some projections still have him as the last man in rather than the first man out.
The preseason finale will not decide everything, but it will be the last chance for bubble players to make a case. Allar and Howard will get the snaps they need to prove they belong. Holcomb’s fate is less about one game and more about whether the Steelers decide four quarterbacks are worth sacrificing a veteran linebacker.
If they do, Holcomb would become a free agent with a track record that could interest teams looking for depth. Pittsburgh would absorb a modest dead-money charge and keep a younger, more flexible linebacker mix.
Roster cutdowns always produce hard choices. This one is a reminder that contracts signed in March do not guarantee a job in September, especially when the quarterback room grows and the linebacker room is already full.
