PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He’s not asking to face him. He’s not calling him out or making a prediction. But given the injuries at corner second-year Cory Trice, Junior said of facing NFL MVP and Super Bowl champ Patrick Mahomes.
“I love it,” Trice said Sunday. “I’m playing on Christmas. I’m playing against Mahomes. I’m itching to make a play against Mahomes. I’m loving day-by-day, making sure I execute the calls whenever it comes.”
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It’s unknown how much Trice will play, but it doesn’t look good for Joey Porter after a knee injury on Saturday in Baltimore. The other starting corner is Donte Jackson, he didn’t play on Saturday because of a recurring pinched nerve in his back. He might play Wednesday, but you don’t know how long he might be able to go.
James Pierre is the first reserve, but when Porter went down against Baltimore it was Trice called first. They were without DeShon Elliott which kept them really from moving Cam Sutton to the outside. Trice played 49 defensive snaps (79%) finishing with five tackles.
He was a seventh round pick out of Purdue last year, but he had a really good offseason and had the potential to play a role in their defense his rookie season until a knee injury ended the whole year. Trice battled injury for part of this season as well.
“You know, Cory has done a nice job in practice, and he did a nice job (Saturday) when given an opportunity to get back on the moving train, and he has done so earlier in the year, and so I expect more the same from him.”
“I was out there all last game, for real,” Trice said. “I’m always going to feel like I’m ready. I prepare every day. I practice when I can. I definitely feel like he will be ready.”
They like a lot about him. He has pretty good speed and something you can’t teach or train, he’s 6’3”.
As he said, he’s excited for a potentially big role against the two-time defending champions.
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“In terms of competing against a guy like [Patrick] Mahomes, he’d better just focus on his fundamentals in his game,” Tomlin said. “He doesn’t have enough of a resume to get preoccupied with what Mahomes is doing. He needs to focus on his game and his quality of play, his eyes, his techniques, his fundamentals, and I'm sure that he will.”
What you love immediately was his excitement to play. He wants to make a difference. They can always use a difference-maker, he could likely do that just by doing his job for however many snaps he plays.