While the main news for the Pittsburgh Steelers surrounds their new coaching staff, there seems to be some ugly news surfacing about one of the team’s biggest weapons. If true, it could spell disaster for this offseason.
Nick Herbig has defied every odd to become a great pass rusher in the NFL. Undersized, many questioned if he could even stay at edge rusher at the next level. Instead, he has turned into one of the most explosive pass rushers in the league.
Entering the fourth and final year of his rookie deal, Herbig is finally eligible for a contract extension. He certainly deserves one, but figuring out the money on paper could be difficult.
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith are both on large contracts, making it harder to justify extending Herbig. That isn’t the only issue anymore, though, as former Steelers defensive lineman Breiden Fehoko posted on X that Herbig doesn’t just want to be paid, he wants to be viewed as a starter.
"Just talked with Nick he doesn’t care about the trade smoke. He’s ready to just be viewed and treated as a full time starter whether it’s in Pittsburgh or elsewhere.
Pitt needs to decide what they wanna do with that edge room. Nick Herbig is a starter no more pitch counts."
This complicates things, and it could leave to an early exit for Herbig in Pittsburgh.
Losing Nick Herbig would spell disaster for the Pittsburgh Steelers
One could easily argue that Herbig was the best pure pass rusher for the Steelers last year. While Highsmith is the better run defender and Watt gets all the attention, Herbig’s ability to pounce off the snap makes him hard to block.
In a perfect world, you keep all three this year and figure out your options next year. Watt’s contract is hard to get out of right now, and Highsmith is playing at a reasonable rate given his production.
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With the ample amount of cap space, you can extend Herbig and still keep the other two players in the room for at least one year. Next year, you would have more flexibility to either let Highsmith walk in free agency or tag him and trade Watt, if he regresses.
If Herbig wants to be a true starter this year, though, that complicates that plan. Having three highly paid edge rushers would require you to be creative in how you deploy those players. Watt will naturally receive the lion’s share of snaps, so we would see a similar split from Highsmith and Herbig.
If that doesn’t work for Herbig, then you need to figure something else out. He is the youngest player in the room with the best pass-rushing ability right now. The Steelers would be fools to let him walk.
Ideally, you can extend Herbig this year with the promise that he will be a full-time starter next year. If that doesn’t work, the Steelers need to figure out a way to keep him in the fold. Losing Herbig would be a massive blow to the team’s future.