Unity TWP., Pa. — Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin revealed following the first day of training camp that inside linebacker Cole Holcomb (knee) and defensive lineman Dean Lowry (undisclosed) will go on the active physically unable to perform (PUP) list. In addition, wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson (hamstring) training) will go on the active non-football injury/illness list. Patterson suffered the hamstring injury from training.
Tomlin said Patterson is day-to-day, so it doesn’t seem to be a major problem. He’s also optimistic for Holcomb and Lowry to participate sooner than later.
Minus the three players mentioned, everyone ran today’s conditioning test and passed.
Holcomb suffered a devastating season-ending knee injury against the Tennessee Titans in Week 9 last year. Holcomb participated in OTAs and minicamp but wasn’t a full participate.
The timeline of Holcomb’s return is not clear, but Mike Tomlin revealed at OTAs that Holcomb was making progress in his recovery.
“He’s working to get back to us and doing a heck of a job of doing it,” Tomlin said.
The injury to Cole Holcomb was a result of friendly fire. Holcomb’s knee went into hyperextension, and he suffered a serious knee injury. That caused him to miss the rest of the season and Pittsburgh did not know precisely when he would return.
“I can tell you Cole [Holcomb’s] working extremely hard to get back,” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said to reporters before the NFL Draft. “I don’t really have much to add on the timeline. We’ve discussed this, it was a major injury but he is working hard and I’m optimistic about all the effort he’s going to put into getting back on the field.”
Lowry, 29, is entering his ninth NFL season, seven of which were played with the Green Bay Packers, who drafted him out of Northwestern in the 2016 NFL Draft. He maintained at least a co-starting role in Green Bay through 2022. He had his most impactful season in 2021, when he recorded five sacks in addition to 42 tackles and five tackles for loss. He also had four passes defended and a fumble recovery.
A 6-foot-6, 296-pound defensive lineman, Lowry can play both three- and five-technique, and will likely replace Armon Watts as the Steelers’ seventh rotational defensive lineman, along with Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Montravius Adams, Keeanu Benton, DeMarvin Leal and Isaiahh Loudermilk.
The Steelers added former Falcons running back and four-time All-Pro kick returner Cordarrelle Patterson this offseason. This addition helps fill out the running back depth chart and offers a new twist to the team with the new kick return rules.
Patterson is one of the best, if not the best, kickoff returners of all-time. He has had nine such kickoff returns throughout his career, and he averages 29.3 yards per kickoff return.
