Has the window closed on Cory Trice Jr.’s career?
With the Steelers declining to activate Cory Trice Jr. yesterday, his 2025 season is officially over, but what about his career? A former seventh-round pick who has barely played and has suffered annual injury, what are his prospects?
Strictly speaking, Trice is still under contract with the Steelers through next season. It’s entirely plausible that he goes to Latrobe in 2026, but even if he does, he will certainly have to fight hard for a roster spot. And the team knowing his injury history, he would have to be a clear winner in a roster battle.
With a torn ACL, multiple soft-tissue injuries, and now a knee injury during his professional career, Cory Trice has certainly had horrible luck. But while that’s not his fault, it’s not the Steelers’ fault, either. There’s a reason the aphorism that “The best ability is availability” is still around. Or as Mike Tomlin has put it in the past, “You can’t make the club from the tub”.
The Steelers thought Cory Trice was much more talented than his draft status indicated. That was probably the broad consensus among NFL scouts, but draft stock is not immune to non-football factors. Health is probably the biggest one, and Pittsburgh rolled the dice on him when nobody else was willing to.
The Steelers lost that roll, but they’ve won with others, at least so far, like Darnell Washington and Payton Wilson. And even if it’s hard to imagine at this point, Trice can still have a career for himself. All he needs is a chance and for his body to cooperate.
Either one of those may feel like a tall task, and managing both nearly insurmountable. The truth is, three years into his NFL career, he hasn’t had a healthy season yet. He has only played in six games, even though he managed an interception in one. Even this year, Trice sounded like he felt he was nearly healthy at the start of the season. The Steelers put him on IR anyway, and the day he returned to practice, he injured his knee. It’s horrible luck. But who is willing to give him another chance? It’s not like he has much of a resume. But he still is tall. And he hasn’t had any major, ability-limiting injuries since 2023.
After another disappointing season and months of retooling, the Steelers are set to try it all again in 2025. Though they limped into the playoffs, they once again embarrassed themselves therein.
Just like last year, the biggest question hanging over the Steelers is the quarterback question. They settled in on Aaron Rodgers, but we still have a lot to learn about him. The 2025 NFL Draft class could play a big role, but veteran additions like Jalen Ramsey will be paramount.
Now we are in the regular season. From Rodgers to George Pickens to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ramsey, we’ve seen the Steelers make some big changes. Now it’s about evaluating the roster in place and figuring out how it all works out.
