The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a good spot from a salary cap perspective entering the new league year, and that should give GM Omar Khan some flexibility in free agency to make some additions and improvements to the roster.
It should also give the Steelers plenty of flexibility to lock down some key young pieces to extensions, too.
Speaking with local reporters, including Steelers Depot’s own Joe Clark, Tuesday at the NFL’s Scouting Combine, Khan stated the Steelers have some young guys they’d like to extend, particularly from the 2023 NFL Draft class.
Of course, that was Khan’s first draft class, and names like cornerback Joey Porter Jr., outside linebacker Nick Herbig, and tight end Darnell Washington come to mind when talking extensions.
“So, some good things to discuss there. As I mentioned, the Broderick situation, we monitoring the medical part of it. That that has something to do with it. And the other guys, we’re not gonna talk about specific negotiations, but there’s some guys that we’d like to extend, for sure,” Khan said.
Left tackle Broderick Jones, whom Khan traded up to land in the first round that year, suffered a serious neck injury in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears last season and was lost for the year. It’s unclear his outlook for the 2026 season, and that could affect what the Steelers do with his fifth-year option.
As for the likes of Porter, Herbig and Washington, all three have played very well for the Steelers and developed nicely, putting them in line to land extensions from the organization.
Porter has developed into a true lockdown cornerback. Though he still struggles with penalties at times, he’s a physical cornerback that hasn’t allowed a touchdown since his rookie season. He broke up 11 passes last season and was a sound tackler, too, taking a significant step forward in his game.
Washington emerged as the TE1 for the Steelers in 2025, taking off as a receiver as Pittsburgh finally tapped into his size and potential at the position, creating a weapon that defenses really had no answer for.
The Steelers have to find a way to get Herbig more playing time defensively, but when he’s on the field he’s producing at a high level. Through his first three seasons, Herbig has 16.0 sacks, including 7.5 sacks last season.
Then, there’s nose tackle Keeanu Benton.
Benton had an up and down 2025 season, struggling to stop the run early in the season as he was pushed around. But he settled in and saw his game take off in the second half of the season. He also tapped into his potential as a pass rusher, too, finishing with a career-best 5.5 sacks.
So, the Steelers have some work to do this offseason to lock up some of their young pieces. Fortunately, the franchise is in a good spot from a cap space perspective, and should be able to get deals done with most — if not all — the guys that Khan was asked about.
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