Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers completely rebuilt their inside linebacker depth chart starting with Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts. The team also added Kwon Alexander later in the season and the three of them brought a new level of play to the position until the injuries started to pile up.
Now it is the 2024 offseason and Alexander is a free agent and Alexander is coming off of a big injury and due a significant payday. This is why Steelers beat writer Ray Fittipaldo called the situation with Holcomb the big unknown.
Holcomb is under contract. Alexander is a UFA. Omar Khan will address reporters at the combine a week from today so we might get an update on what they’re thinking at ILB. Holcomb declined to speak with reporters on locker cleanout day and Mike Tomlin offered very little about where he is in his rehab. So quite honestly, there is a big unknown there.
If the Steelers keep Holcomb, his cap hit for 2024 is $7.46 million. If the Steelers choose to release Holcomb as a post-June 1 cut would save the Steelers $6 million in cap space. If the Steelers release Holcomb, look for them to address the position early in free agency and possibly in the 2024 NFL draft as well.
