It felt like the Pittsburgh Steelers got away with highway robbery after the 2023 NFL Draft when they selected Cory Trice Jr. in the seventh round.
The 6-3 cornerback drew rave reviews in rookie training camp and was deemed an “avatar” for his length and athleticism. Unfortunately, that hype quickly came to a halt after Trice tore his ACL on the first day of training camp.
Now in 2024, a year after his injury, the Steelers remain “cautiously optimistic” on his potential, according to The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly via 93.7 The Fan on Friday.
“I think they’re cautiously optimistic,” said Kaboly when talking about the Steelers’ internal thoughts on Trice. “I mean, he looks the part, he definitely looks like he could be a guy to come in and play right away, but you just can’t take that as an assumption right now because he’s yet to do that.”
Kaboly goes on to warn that many players in the past have looked the part in the NFL, but have flamed out for a variety of reasons. For Trice, the biggest obstacle in his way has been injuries.
Dating back to his high school days, Trice has struggled to stay on the field due to significant injuries. Over the past few years he has torn both ACLs, suffered a high ankle sprain and broke his ankle.
His injuries became so worrisome it caused teams to pass on drafting him, according to Senior Bowl Director Jim Nagy.
“Known medicals were reason why Trice didn’t get Senior Bowl invite,” tweeted Nagy. “Many people in league tipped us off in November and we thought he could fall all way out of draft, which almost happened.”
Obviously Trice didn’t end up being undrafted, eventually being picked 241st overall, but the injury concerns did ring true.
As Kaboly stated, Trice certainly looks the part of an NFL cornerback.
Carrying an RAS score of 9.65, it’s understandable why the Steelers were willing to remain “cautiously optimistic” about his potential.
Trice won’t be a starter this season, those spots are taken by Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson. However, the opportunity for Trice to become the team’s main outside backup corner seems to be realistic.
The team seemed to double-down on this approach after the team balked at the opportunity to re-sign Patrick Peterson.
The path won’t be easy for Trice. Along with staying healthy, he will need to outduel fellow 2023 rookie corner Darius Rush. Still, if he can return to his form in college, the Steelers are poised to be rewarded for their optimism.
