As the latest chapter in their offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers handed out large contracts to a pair of rotational players. Tight end Darnell Washington shares time with Pat Freiermuth, and EDGE rusher Nick Herbig splits snaps with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. On paper, the deals might seem foolishly excessive for guys who won’t see 80 percent of the reps. ESPN’s Brooke Pryor says Pittsburgh calculates its spending through a different lens.
“They lock them up early because they know that this salary cap is gonna go up every single year,” Pryor said during a Friday appearance on SportsCenter. “They’re gonna be more expensive on the free agent market. And these are guys who, even not as official starters, are huge contributors now and going forward.”
With the COVID year exception, the salary cap has spiked annually. Last year saw another big jump, exceeding $300 million for the first time in history. That figure will increase again in 2027 and beyond as the league continues global expansion. Future rights deals could explode the numbers by the end of the decade.
Naturally, that gives every team more room to spend. Pittsburgh is prioritizing its young talent and finally signing draft picks to large second contracts, something the organization has struggled to do for years.
In principle, that’s important. On the field, Washington and Herbig are talented and offer plenty of value. Washington is the league’s best blocking tight end, who showed his receiving chops with 31 catches last year. Herbig is an efficient and high-impact player. His nine forced fumbles since being drafted rank sixth in the NFL despite playing just 1,200 defensive snaps, far fewer than most of those around him.
With both paid, the Steelers have large contracts in both rooms. Washington and Freiermuth at tight end, Herbig, Watt, and Highsmith at linebacker. Pryor says there’s another reason for that.
“Plus, they’re probably gonna have a rookie quarterback in the near future. So they can afford to pay some other positions,” she said.
Teams with young franchise quarterbacks, like Drake Maye and the New England Patriots, take advantage of their window with a cheap contract. In an inverted sense, Pittsburgh is the same. The Steelers lack a long-term quarterback solution, but will likely enter 2027 starting Will Howard, Drew Allar, or a rookie draft pick. All will be cheap and count little against the salary cap. Money is freed up to spend elsewhere.
Neither explanation is earth-shattering. Pittsburgh has good players worth keeping and the flexibility to do so. In fact, Khan said the same early this offseason, noting the team could make moves that “aren’t normal” thanks to their financial standing. That’s now come to fruition.
Pittsburgh’s not done yet. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and defensive lineman Keeanu Benton are candidates for extensions. Porter seems certain to get done while Benton can’t be counted out, either. It could make for one of the heaviest sets of offseason extensions the Steelers have ever made, surpassing 2014’s deals for C Maurkice Pouncey and OT Marcus Gilbert.
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