Unbelievable: Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin” Says Choosing Steelers Was The Biggest Mistake That He Has Ever Made….

Daniel Jones (or whoever ends up being the New York Giants’ starting quarterback) now has a former Pro Bowl wide receiver among their options in 2024.

Though the former second-round pick is nearly one decade removed from his lone Pro Bowl campaign (2015 with the Jacksonville Jaguars), he’s had sporadic success since then. More importantly, the 30-year-old Robinson brings experience to New York’s young wide receiver room.

Outside of the new addition, Darius Slayton is the veteran of the group. The Auburn product turned 27 in January and is entering his sixth season.

Slayton has been skipping voluntary workouts with the team this spring so far, according to an ESPN report, as he seeks a contract adjustment or extension.

Isaiah Hodgins is 25 and starting his fourth season, Wan’Dale Robinson is 23 and beginning his third campaign and Jalin Hyatt is 22 and entering his second season. The Giants selected LSU product Malik Nabers (20 years old) with the sixth pick in April’s draft.

Slayton was New York’s leading pass-catcher in 2023, but he only finished with 770 receiving yards and four touchdowns via 50 receptions on 79 targets.

Due to injuries to Jones and backup signal-caller Tyrod Taylor, the Giants called on undrafted quarterback Tommy DeVito in nine games (six starts) last season. The franchise hasn’t had a receiver surpass 770 yards, let alone 1,000, since Odell Beckham Jr. registered 1,052 during the 2018 campaign.

Allen Robinson isn’t likely to approach 1,000 yards in 2024, but at the very least, can be a solid veteran presence and help Nabers grow in his rookie year.

The Penn State product spent the first four years of his career with the Jacksonville Jaguars, leading the league in touchdown receptions (14) during his 2015 Pro Bowl season.

Robinson signed with the Chicago Bears in March 2018 and posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2019 and 2020 to go with 200 catches and 13 touchdowns in the two years combined as well.

The Giants will be his fourth team in four years after playing one final season in Chicago in 2021, suiting up for the Los Angeles Rams in 2022 and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2023. Robinson finished last season with 34 catches for 280 scoreless yards on 49 targets.

 

 

The Pittsburgh Steelers have made two exciting additions at inside linebacker this offseason. First, they signed Patrick Queen to a franchise record-setting contract. Then, they grabbed Dick Butkus winner Payton Wilson in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft.

But there’s still no word about when those two players will get the opportunity to play with incumbent Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb.

Holcomb suffered a season-ending knee injury during Week 9 against the Tennessee Titans last year. He left the game on a cart and didn’t return.

The Steelers ruled Holcomb out for the rest of the season the day after his injury. But the team has yet to provide a more thorough label to the ailment other than “knee injury.”

On May 8, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor and The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo didn’t have a more specific name for Holcomb’s injury. But each had bleak updates on Holcomb’s recovery.

“Holcomb was playing really well last season until he had a season-ending knee injury, and that’s been a pretty significant injury,” Pryor said while appearing on The Adam Gold Show. “My understanding is it’s not just a simple ACL tear, and they’re being very vague on what the specific injury is.”

Pryor added that Holcomb’s timeline to return “isn’t quite clear.”

Fittipaldo used context clues to provide his own update on the inside linebacker.

“Based on their moves in free agency and the draft I am betting they are not counting on much of a contribution from Holcomb this season, if at all,” Fittipaldo wrote as an answer in a fan chat. “They signed Patrick Queen to the richest free agent deal in franchise history and selected Payton Wilson in the third round of the draft. Plus, Elandon Roberts is back for another season.

“If Holcomb does play this season I don’t think it will be early in the season.”

Before his injury, Holcomb was among the Steelers leaders in tackles and defensive snaps last season. In eight games, he had 54 combined tackles, including 4 tackles for loss. He also had 2 quarterback hits, 2 pass defenses and 2 forced fumbles.

When Will LB Cole Holcomb Return for Steelers?
Although the Steelers have been vague with Holcomb’s injury, it’s clear the ailment is very serious.

Steelers general manager Omar Khan told reporters at the NFL combine that he wasn’t sure about the linebacker’s recovery timeline. That’s highly unusual for an injury that occurred four months earlier.

The assumption has been since Holcomb’s injury that he tore his ACL. The typical recovery time for an ACL tear is 6-12 months. In recent years, NFL players have returned closer to the shorter end of that timeframe.

Given those facts and Pryor’s comments on The Adam Gold Show, Holcomb is likely dealing with something besides just an ACL tear. He could have another injury in his knee in addition to the ACL tear, or he could be dealing with something else entirely such as a patellar tendon tear.

But the only known fact is Holcomb suffered a knee injury. To suggest anything else as fact is speculation.