Steelers Now
With a four-year, $100 million deal in tow, Nick Herbig finally has a weight off his shoulders. The Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker offered some advice for defensive teammates Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton, who are waiting to ink contract extensions of their own before this upcoming season.
“It’s easy for me to say now that I got it done, but, man, it was a long process,” Herbig said on Cam Heyward’s “Not Just Football” podcast. “There’s gonna be days where you’re really — not angry — but you’re mad, you’re irritated. Then there’s days where you’re just like, ‘Whatever. It is what it is.’ And you’re just trying your hardest not to think about 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 kind of almost impossible to not think about it. That’s a monumental time in your life. It’s life-changing, not just for you, but for everybody around you.
“You just gotta work your ass and hope for the best. If it doesn’t happen, it wasn’t meant to be, I believe.”
Porter, who’s blossomed into an adept coverman, has broken up 31 passes over his three seasons in black and gold. He’s happy to be “getting the respect that I feel like I’m owed,” Porter said recently. He’s allowed only one touchdown pass during his professional tenure and none over the past two go-rounds.
Benton, a defensive lineman who was teammates with Herbig at Wisconsin, too, had his best statistical season last year, posting 51 total tackles and five sacks.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Nick Herbig Opens Up on Stress of Contract Talks for Steelers Teammates
