Steelers confident at ILB despite loss of Cole Holcomb for season

How can you lose a starter to a season-ending injury but actually emerge not, in fact, being down a starter?

The Pittsburgh Steelers insist they’ve done so, by way of spending the first half of their season deploying three men to handle two spots as “starters” at inside linebacker.

“I think because we had what we thought were three starters, we’re good,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “We feel pretty confident in the situation.”

Even after the season-ending knee injury suffered by Cole Holcomb, the Steelers can turn to two inside linebackers who have combined for 170 NFL starts over an aggregate 17 pro seasons in Elandon Roberts and Kwon Alexander.

This season alone in eight games for the Steelers, Roberts and Alexander have combined for 89 tackles (62 solo, 10 for loss), 2 1/2 sacks and six QB hits in limited pass-rush reps, a forced fumble and an interception.

A pair of 29-year-olds, Roberts has been a multi-year captain in the NFL and Alexander has a Pro Bowl selection on his resume. Each joined Holcomb as free-agent additions to Steelers over the spring and summer, forming quite the three-headed monster in roaming the middle of the defense.

Now, that is in effect down to a two-man job — “a more traditional rotation,” as coach Mike Tomlin put it.

“It was somewhat of a luxury,” Tomlin said of the Holcomb/Roberts/Alexander timeshare. “We thought we had three really capable inside linebackers that we were dividing the labor up among two positions among three capable guys, and that’s a really good thing when you have an opportunity to do that.

“Now, we’ve simply got two guys for two spots.”

Well, three if you count second-year pro Mark Robinson. And four if you include the likely practice-squad call-up, which for Sunday’s 1 p.m. home game against the Green Bay Packers is expected to be Tariq Carpenter.

But with those latter two presumed to be filing primarily special-teams roles, Alexander and Roberts are left to do the heavy lifting. And with the Steelers down a safety because of Minkah Fitzpatrick’s hamstring injury, they mostly will have to do it alone.

“We went out there every week in practice when it was us three before Cole’s significant injury, and I felt like it was working well,” said Roberts, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots who had spent the past three seasons with the Miami Dolphins. “So with us being one down, obviously we have to pick it up, but at the same time I think we were always comfortable with each other.”

In simplest terms, Roberts was signed to be the run-stuffer with Holcomb more excelling in a coverage role. Alexander, a 2017 Pro Bowler with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, brings athleticism and a penchant for big hits.

As far as depth, Robinson was used late last season by the Steelers against run-heavy opponents. Carpenter is a converted safety, suggesting his strength is against the pass.

While the Steelers have every intention of leaning heavily on Roberts and Alexander, their ages combined with a lengthy injury history for Alexander and a knee injury Roberts was nursing this week suggest it can’t be assumed others won’t be needed. Alexander missed 37 of a possible 82 games the five seasons leading up to joining the Steelers.

Still, Alexander has a current “iron man” streak of 27 consecutive games played for the three teams he’s been on dating to late in the 2021 season. Alexander is taking over for Holcomb in wearing the “green dot” helmet used for communication from coaches on the sideline.

Coming off making the game-sealing interception for last week’s win against the Tennessee Titans, Alexander was asked if he’s playing as well as he has in years.

“I don’t know. I just have to keep going,” he said. “I am not going to put a limit on it. The sky’s the limit, so this week I am going in with the same strategy — just go and get the ball, that’s my main goal.”

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