The dust is starting to settle on the flurry of contract extensions the Pittsburgh Steelers handed out in recent days, locking up outside linebacker Nick Herbig and tight end Darnell Washington to long-term deals.
That dust might be settling, but the hype isn’t slowing down when it comes to the moves.
For former Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison, Pittsburgh locking up Herbig long term didn’t come close to an overpay.
“Nah, that’s not a lot…So this right here is a great, great move,” Harrison said of the Herbig extension on the latest episode of the Deebo and Joe podcast. “Great deal. Omar [Khan] is cooking, Mike McCarthy is cooking. And as he said in his quote, he said, ‘You can never have enough players, especially in the outside linebacker position.’ They’re all playmakers. He said, ‘I’m thrilled to death we have them all.’
“They are keeping them all.”
The Steelers extending Herbig was a bit surprising, just based on the timing of it and other factors. Herbig isn’t a true starter and doesn’t play a high number of snaps when everyone is healthy. Committing roughly $25 million per year and $42 million guaranteed to Herbig when he’s never been a full-time starter seems like a bit of a gamble.
But the Steelers are playing the long game, and Herbig’s extension could prove to be a major value down the road after he steps into that full-time starter’s role, whenever that may be.
Having three high-end outside linebackers is a great problem to have. The Steelers will have to be creative in getting all three on the field at the same time, all while managing snap counts, too.
Harrison noted one advantage to the Herbig extension.
“Now you have your brand-new d-coordinator in Patrick Graham, and he has everybody there. It’s all hands-on deck. Now we get to see what the Pittsburgh Steelers defense is supposed to look like,” Harrison said. “What we’re accustomed to seeing, bro. Like sitting on top of the NFL, being the most feared defense in the NFL, where when you see those three stars on your schedule and your head coach say, ‘Ah, two chinstraps for this game, it’s gong to be a blood bath.’ It’s gonna be a physical disciplined defense that you gonna face all year.
“And no matter what the outcome is, win, lose, or draw, when you done with this game, you’re gonna feel that you play the Pittsburgh Steelers. Get the cold tubs, get ready to heal all the knots and bruises and lumps and bruises that we gonna put on your ass after this game is over.”
Harrison certainly is buying into the Steelers in 2026, especially with the change in coaching staff and the added talent across the board. Retaining Herbig and paying him like the premium pass rusher that he is was a good step in that direction, too.
With Graham calling the shots defensively, Harrison believes the Steelers will get back to their roots of being that vaunted defense. They better hope that’s the case, considering the amount of money they’ve invested on that side of the football.
Recommended for you