The Pittsburgh Steelers are still figuring out how to sign Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton to contract extensions after getting Nick Herbig and Darnell Washington under contract. Before general manager Omar Khan can think about getting his 2024 draft class locked up under second contracts, he needs to focus on his 2023 class.
But a recent move by the Miami Dolphins may have quietly helped the Steelers ahead of next offseason.
On Wednesday, the Miami Dolphins and center Aaron Brewer agreed to a new three-year, $52 million extension. While this seems to have little bearing on anything the Steelers are doing, Pittsburgh has a massive center contract extension for Zach Frazier that will need to be worked out next offseason.
Frazier has been one of the best centers in the NFL over his first two seasons, and after watching what Tyler Linderbaum made on the free agent market during the 2026 offseason, Steelers fans were worried. Linderbaum spurned the Baltimore Ravens for Las Vegas after the Raiders handed him an outrageous three-year, $81 million contract—the largest in history for an NFL center.
Linderbaum's $27 million in average annual value completely obliterated the center market, putting former top-billed center Creed Humphey and his $18 million per season to shame.
Thankfully, Brewer's new deal could force Frazier's agent to come back down to earth ahead of contract negotiations with the Steelers next offseason.
The Pittsburgh Steelers should be thanking the Miami Dolphins for getting Aaron Brewer signed at a reasonable number
Don't get me wrong, $17 million per season is still a ton of money for a center. Brewer's new extension ties him with Eagles' Cam Jurgens for the third-highest-paid center in the NFL, per Over the Cap. But after seeing what Linderbaum got paid a few months back, Brewer's agent had every right to ask for more.
Brewer is coming off a phenomenal 2025 season, which included Second-Team All-Pro honors. In addition to earning All-Pro votes from the Associated Press, Brewer was also Pro Football Focus's second-highest-graded center last season. His 87.4 overall grade narrowly trailed Creed Humphrey for first place, while easily surpassing Linderbaum's 79.8.
At 28, Brewer is two years older than Linderbaum. However, Brewer has steadily improved over the past four seasons, while missing just one game during that span.
Thankfully, the Dolphins didn't cave and pay him Linderbaum-type money. The Raiders had loads of cash to spend during the 2026 free agency period, and Linderbaum is proof of that.
So how does this impact the Steelers and Zach Frazier?
Next offseason, signing Frazier to a contract extension will be the top priority for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Frazier is an excellent football player, and before the Brewer contract, it looked like the Steelers might have to fork up and overpay to keep Frazier around.
Now there's hope the Steelers can sign their center to a long-term contract at a respectable rate.
Because of Frazier's youth—he'll be 25 next offseason—Pittsburgh will no doubt have to top the contract the Dolphins gave a 28-year-old Brewer. However, they likely won't have to exceed Linderbaum's deal.
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