Wednesday is the 21st day since Cory Trice Jr. returned to practice while on injured reserve, which means the Steelers have to make the decision of activating him or having him miss the rest of the year.

When a player returns to practice from IR, it opens a 21-day window in which they still technically remain on IR but can practice with the team. Trice has been practicing, both as a limited a full participant on various days. But, should that player not be placed back on the 53-man roster inside that window, he is to stay on IR for the remainder of the season.

With Wednesday being the final day of the 21-day window, that means a decision has to be made quickly. However, the Steelers have until before Thursday's practice to make their decision, per team source. Thus, if Wednesday's practice concludes and there is no indication of him being activated, there is still time for the Steelers to get it done should they deem him healthy enough to take up one of the 53 spots on the active roster.

During his Tuesday press conference at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Mike Tomlin said Trice was one of a few players that "might position themselves for the consideration" of playing Sunday against the Browns.

Trice has been on injured reserve since Sept. 24 with a hamstring injury sustained during punt return coverage in the Steelers' Week 3 win over the Chargers. Prior to the injury, Trice had worked his way up to the No. 3 outside cornerback spot behind Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson. Trice had recorded his first career interception in Week 2 against the Broncos, picking off Bo Nix in the end zone.

Trice is in his second season, and missed his entire rookie season due to a torn ACL sustained during training camp. Trice was a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in the 2023 NFL Draft. He was projected to be a late Day 2 pick or early Day 3 selection, but a lengthy injury history scared teams off until the Steelers took a chance on him.