With Nick Herbig and Darnell Washington, the Steelers have signed two from the 2024 class to contract extensions. Herbig has advice for the others. Realistically, there are two remaining awaiting significant new deals this offseason. The big one is Joey Porter Jr., their top cornerback, but Keeanu Benton is a key defensive lineman, too.
Shortly after signing a $100 million contract extension, Nick Herbig jumped on teammate Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast. With Darnell Washington locked up soon after him, he talked about Keeanu Benton and Joey Porter’s deals to come. Asked what he would advise them, having just completed the process himself, he was honest about his experience.
“There’s gonna be days where you’re mad, you’re irritated, and there’s days where you’re just like, whatever, it is what it is”, Herbig said about the contract extension negotiations he just went through. “You’re just trying your hardest not to think about it and not let it distract you and just stay locked in and keep working and work while you wait basically. But to me, it was almost impossible to not think about it. That’s a monumental time in your life, not just for you but for everybody around you”.
He also advised that they go off social media, and not just to avoid the chatter. “Just being away from the team”, he said. “I just couldn’t see anything because then I would just be like, ‘Man, I want to be there’”.
When the Steelers drafted Nick Herbig in the fourth round in 2023, they probably didn’t necessarily anticipate eventually signing him to a $25 million APY contract extension. Especially not with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith still in the fold. But he’s locked in now, and he couldn’t be happier. Especially after, he admits, contemplating about who things could have gone differently.
From the moment Pittsburgh drafted him, Herbig was thrilled to be a part of the Steelers. They had already signed his older brother in free agency, who was a far bigger influence on his career than people probably realize, but that’s a topic we’ll touch on another day. “Am I gonna be on a different team next year?”, he reflected on worrying. “Am I ever gonna be a Steeler again?”.
Thanks to his agents and his choice not to bet on himself this year, he will be. At least, that’s the direction in which it’s heading. The Steelers signed Nick Herbig to a big contract extension understanding he could be replacing T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith at some point along the way. In fact, they’re probably counting on it. Watt is on the wrong side of 30, and Highsmith is under contract for two more years. At some point, the money adds up beyond a point of making sense.
Through three seasons, Nick Herbig has played 1,216 defensive snaps with 11 starts due to injury. He has racked up 16 sacks, 23 tackles for loss, 1 interception, and 9 forced fumbles along the way. Now signed to a big contract extension, the Steelers seem to have even bigger plans for him. And he hopes Keeanu Benton and Joey Porter are part of the plans as well.
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