The Pittsburgh Steelers have cut ties with a promising cornerback.
Steelers reporter Brooke Pryor of ESPN reported on Tuesday that Pittsburgh has waived cornerback Cory Trice Jr. after he failed his physical. Trice has battled injuries throughout his entire tenure with the Steelers, and now the team has parted ways.
“Steelers have waived CB Cory Trice with a failed physical, per the transactions wire. Trice has dealt with a slew of knee and hamstring injuries since being drafted by the Steelers in the 2023 seventh round. He played in six games, starting one, in 2024,” Pryor wrote on X.
The Steelers selected Trice in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Purdue. The cornerback missed his entire rookie season after being placed on the injured reserve in August after tearing his ACL.
Trice made his NFL debut in Week 1 of the 2024 NFL season. The following week, he recorded his first NFL interception, off Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix. However, just 9 days later, he was once again placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury, but did return in December.
Ahead of the 2025 season, the Steelers placed Trice on injured reserve/designated for return due to a hamstring injury. However, in mid-November, the Steelers opted not to activate the 25-year-old due to a knee injury he sustained, which ended his season.
Trice finishes his Steelers tenure with just six games played, recording 21 tackles, 1 interception, and 2 pass defenses.
Trice Showed Flashes of Promise
The Steeles waiving Trice is disappointing news as when he was healthy, the cornerback showed flashes of being an imapct defender.
Against the Cincinnati Bengals in January, 2025, with Donte Jackson out, Trice was tasked to cover Ja’Marr Chase. He allowed an early touchdown, but recovered from them and it was a performance that caught the attention of Mike Tomlin.
“I thought largely, he did some nice things. Cory’s a hard-working guy, he doesn’t have a lot of experience. It was really good experience for him. And it’s reasonable to expect him to build upon that,” Tomlin said postgame, via SteelersDepot.
In the game, Trice played a career-high 69 snaps and was able to limit the damage of Chase and the big plays from the Bengals offense.
Ultimately, injuries derailed Trice’s tenure with the Steelers.
Mike McCarthy Likes Steelers Rookies
Pittsburgh had rookie minicamp before the beginning of OTAs and new head coach Mike McCarthy is pleased with how the rookies fared.
After the Steelers wrapped up rookie minicamp, McCarthy said he was impressed with how the practices went.
“It’s been an extremely productive couple of days here,” said McCarthy. “The rookies will conclude tonight. We felt it was important for them to be home for Mother’s Day. Then we’ll start with those guys with our veterans on Monday. Very pleased with the amount of work, the quality of work that we’ve been able to accomplish with these young men. We’ve taken a very slow approach. I’ve gone to this format probably the last 10, 12 years.
“It gives a chance to really to get everybody acclimated and have clear understanding of the expectation of how we operate here with the Steelers. It’s also been good for us as coaches because obviously this is our first year. They’re here because of what they’ve shown in their college careers. We’re very pleased with everything they’ve done as far as their physical gifts. So far they’ve passed the mental challenge that we’ve thrown in front of them.”
Pittsburgh’s OTAs are scheduled for May 18, May 20-21, May 26, May 28-29, June 8-9, and June 11-12.
Steelers Waive Promising Young Cornerback After Failing Physical