Going forward without a leading tackler through eight games makes for a less-than-ideal circumstance, but that is exactly what Teryl Austin and the Steelers will have to do for the second half of the 2023 season.
Before he sustained a season-ending knee injury last Thursday against the Titans, Cole Holcomb had lived up to the start of the three-year, $18 million contract he signed to join the Steelers in the offseason. He immediately took over the green-dot duties as the on-field signal caller for Austin and paced the Steelers with 54 total tackles and two forced fumbles in seven-plus games.
With the signal caller out for the rest of 2023 the inside linebackers room goes from having a "luxury," as worded by Mike Tomlin, to going back to a status quo.
But, there is a high confidence in Kwon Alexander and Elandon Roberts to play at a high level to do more than just make up for Holcomb's production.
"Well, I think like anything when you lose a starter, you always want the next man up," Austin said Thursday on the South Side. "The nice thing is we had what we considered three starters between those guys that we have in there, and then the two guys now are just going to end up probably having a few more reps and we'll get Mark (Robinson) and get him ready to go, but I think because we had what we thought were three starters, we're good. We feel pretty confident in the situation."
Though Alexander has been on the field for 353 snaps to Roberts' 231 this season, Roberts has racked up 48 tackles to Alexander's 41. Of those 231 snaps for Roberts, 38.9% of those were in pass coverage, while Alexander's rate of dropping in coverage rests 51.6%.
The two linebackers clearly have different roles, while Holcomb was an every-down, do-it-all linebacker for the Steelers. This contrast in styles between Alexander and Roberts could complement each other well, while Robinson helps pick up some of the slack on run-stopping downs.
"I know the defense pretty well," Alexander said Wednesday. "They break it down to us a little bit less when it's game week so we don't have to know everything. Just being able to point out all the new plays, just making sure everybody's on the same track."
Said Austin: "One thinks I think Cole is, he's a really good communicator, not just in the huddle but like when he comes off the field and different things like that. And I think those other guys will take up that slack."
Alexander will take over green-dot duties for Austin in Holcomb's absence, though Roberts will be instrumental in communicating on a similar level to Alexander, as far as responsibility goes.
"There was three of us, and we had a lot of versatility in certain situations," Roberts said. "... Cole's still going to be really involved with our room, it's just right now he has to take care of himself so next season he's good to go. For the meantime he's going to be with us mentally getting ready for games and stuff like that. He's still a big part of us even though he's not there from a physical standpoint."
Roberts popped up on Thursday's injury report as a non-participant with a knee injury. This is a downgrade from his limited participation Wednesday, so his status and game designation on Friday will be crucial to the outlook of this linebackers room with Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon and the Packers coming to town Sunday.
If Roberts can't go, that would thrust Robinson into a more prominent role.
"Everybody on the room's got a certain level of comfort with each other on the field, just because of the chemistry that we've built so far," Robinson said this week. "... Every day we come in here it's the same, so we're just keep building. They're staying on me and I'm all open (to listen)."
Beyond Robinson, the depth would have to extend to the practice squad. The next two down the list are Mykal Walker and Kyron Johnson.
Walker is a fourth-year pro out of Fresno State who started in 12 games and posted 107 total tackles with the Falcons last season. He signed with the Steelers on Oct. 30.
On Thursday, Austin said there is still some familiarity to gain with Walker.
"Right now, I couldn't say we have great confidence because I've got to figure out what he knows and we're starting to see that this week," Austin said of Walker. "Yesterday we got a chance to see him in there with some regular reps and not card team reps as we were getting used to him, so I have a better understanding or idea of him, but he has been a starter in this league. He's made a lot of tackles. He's played football. That's comforting in that way. How he adapts to our system and the things that we're doing, that always is a matter of time and how fast a player gets it."
