I was wrong about the Pittsburgh Steelers.
An article I had diligently worked on and really quite loved was filed on Tuesday. It was my fourth-ever for FanSided’s Still Curtain, titled “Steelers have Nick Herbig-sized problem after minicamp move.” As the name suggests, it highlighted Herbig sitting out Day 1 of minicamp and what it could look like if the holdout dragged on.
It went unpublished because 10 minutes later, the Steelers signed Herbig to a whopper of an extension.
I doubted that the Steelers would pay what Herbig—of course—deserved, and no question his agent came to the table with. Would they pay a rotational player who had only averaged 42% of defensive snaps since he was drafted in 2023 so handsomely?
It’s what he did with that limited time that jumps off the page. Herbig has racked up 79 tackles, 16 sacks, one interception, nine forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries. One of those recoveries went for a touchdown.
The Steelers got hella lucky with Herbig in the fourth round three years ago out of Wisconsin, a school they’ve had a lot of success drafting out of. But they also bet on the name, which, as we all know, they do quite often.
They’d be silly to let that go. But they have been silly before.
The Pittsburgh Steelers proved me wrong by making Nick Herbig a $100 million cornerstone defender
I was also wrong about Herbig. I was skeptical about the “I want to be a Steeler for life" comment. Plenty who’ve come and gone through Pittsburgh over the years have said that. Could he have, instead, been on the trade block? There was speculation about it earlier in the offseason.
A team needing a nasty edge presence, in Hawaiian form specifically, would happily make Herbig a Day 1 starter and pay him graciously to do so.
‘It’s my desire to be a Steeler for life’#Steelers OLB Nick Herbig said he’s leaving contract stuff to his agent, what he did say pic.twitter.com/50vh4tp3Al
— 93.7 The Fan (@937theFan) June 2, 2026
But “would Pittsburgh?” was the biggest question.
McCarthy doubled down on Herbig's sentiments, cooing about the stud defender, his contributions to the team, and how “it’s great to have Nick.”
Neither was lyin’, though. Hours after those very words were spoken—that have also been repeated by plenty who have stuck around—news dropped of the historic extension.
And with that, Herbig became the first non-quarterback to surpass $100 million without starting an entire NFL season in his career.
Why did the Steelers budge to pay Herbig that rich a contract? (We all know $100 million wasn’t the start and end point). Because he’s the future. The Steelers were woefully ill-prepared when Ben Roethlisberger retired in 2021 (ahem, still unresolved), but they’re damn well going to be ready when T.J. Watt does. And Cam Heyward does. And Alex Highsmith is, inevitably, traded.
Herbig will be a Steeler for life. And fans will be all the better for it.
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