DENVER — Pittsburgh Steelers second-year cornerback Cory Trice Jr. will start the team’s final preseason game against the Detroit Lions because star cornerback Joey Porter Jr. is out with an unspecified injury. Trice has played several days with the first team over the past two weeks while Porter and Donte Jackson missed time.

The Steelers have seen Trice embrace the new responsibilities he’s been given after returning from a torn ACL. Drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 NFL Draft out of Purdue, Trice is just returning to action after missing a full year with that knee injury, and Mike Tomlin is impressed with Trice’s willingness to step up.

“You know what’s most important to him? With every rep, I see him relying more on his health. When you come off a major injury like he did, that’s part of it too. He’s also a young guy, so he’s still got some growing seasons, so he’s got a lot of meat on his bones and he covers a lot of ground, but there’s still a lot of work to do,” Tomlin said.

As for Porter, there is no reason to believe his injury is serious, but he has missed the last two days of practice due to injury, and the Steelers are keeping him out because of a minor injury.