Pittsburgh Steelers place rookie CB Cory Trice Jr. on injured reserve
The Pittsburgh Steelers placed one of their rookie draft picks on Injured Reserve on Wednesday, the team announced. Seventh-round selection Cory Trice Jr. suffered an injury during the team’s training camp practice on Tuesday. It was reported as a non-contact injury to his right leg, however, the exact nature of the injury is still unclear.
Trice went down on the practice field and had to be helped off the field by trainers on a cart.
It’s a disappointing beginning to the young defensive back’s NFL career, but it’s not the end.
During OTAs, head coach Mike Tomlin assessed the performance and the development of both Steelers cornerback pickups, Trice and second-rounder Joey Porter Jr.
“You know they’re sharp guys, the type of institutions they went to, the caliber of ball they played, it wasn’t much that we introduced to them schematically that they hadn’t already been exposed to,” Tomlin said. “Both sharp guys.”
During his career at Purdue, Trice appeared in 34 games and started in 24. During the 2021 season, he suffered an ACL tear. He also previously missed three games for Purdue due to a high ankle sprain.
Trice started 13 games for the Boilermakers in 2022. He recorded 34 tackles, two interceptions and a team-high 12 passes defensed.
He was an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection in 2022 by the coaches and media. Trice also earned third-team All-Big Ten honors from Pro Football Focus.
Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. gets Moss’d by George Pickens
Joey Porter Jr.‘s welcome to the NFL moment may have come before the season even started at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp on Tuesday.
While competing in one-on-ones, the rookie out of Penn State lined up across from second-year wide receiver George Pickens. And Pickens’ one year of league experience clearly showed as he rose up for a jaw-dropping one-handed catch over Porter that got an enormous reaction out of players and fans alike in attendance.
Porter played tight coverage throughout the rep, playing physically with Pickens at the line of scrimmage and during the course of his route. But when the ball was in the air, Pickens made an incredible adjustment and an outstanding one-handed finish to come out on top with the ball.
Pickens proceeded to give the ball back to Porter following the highlight reel-worthy play, something that Porter Jr. didn’t take kindly to throwing the ball at Pickens’ helmet afterward. But the level of competition heating up between two of Pittsburgh’s premier young players is surely a great sign in the Steel City.
The Steelers selected Porter with the No. 32 pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. It was the first pick of the second round.
On3’s Kaiden Smith contributed to this report.