It was a scary moment Thursday night at Acrisure Stadium as Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb had to be carted off the field against the Tennessee Titans with a gruesome knee injury and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Holcomb was released from the hospital on Friday after a precautionary visit, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. The Steelers linebacker will “need surgery” and “is out for the season,” Pelissero added. He’s expected to make a full recovery.
Holcomb, 27, suffered the injury late in the first quarter while in pursuit of Titans’ wideout DeAndre Hopkins and appeared to collide with his teammate Keanu Neal around his left knee.
Amazon play-by-play man Al Michaels said on the broadcast said, “This is one of those injuries where we don’t need to show the replay.”
Holcomb immediately grabbed his knee in pain and as he was helped up onto the cart his teammates surrounded him to show their support.
Before he left the game, Holcomb had two tackles in the first quarter against Tennessee. He has 33 total tackles for the season to go along with two forced fumbles and has become a solid piece of an impressive Steelers’ defensive unit.
Holcomb was signed to a three-year, $18 million deal in free agency this past offseason after spending the first four seasons of his career in the nation’s capital with the Washington Commanders.
Without Holcomb, the Steelers will need to lean more heavily on veterans Kwon Alexander and Elandon Roberts at inside linebacker moving forward.
