Steelers Now
During a recent appearance on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football, Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker Nick Herbig opened up on a career-altering moment. It came in Week 14 of his rookie season against the New England Patriots. It was the first time that Herbig was thrown into the fire as a starter for the majority of the game.
“I had to learn that the hard way, because I thought I was like, I’ll just stretch and I’m ready to go,” Herbig told Heyward. “But there’s so much more outside of the facility you have to do to prepare yourself for when you do get the opportunity, because you don’t know when it’s gonna come.”
“I end up playing [70] snaps, and I don’t think I was ready for that. I always look back at that moment and remind myself, ‘Don’t ever let that happen again. The playing time referenced includes special teams, which largely consist of sprinting. Danny Smith, he wasn’t taking me off that. So I had to be ready for all of that, and I wasn’t. So I’d look at that moment and go back to that sometimes and be like, ‘I don’t want that to happen again.'”
Herbig, 24, has displayed exactly why he demanded such a payday over the past three years, racking up 79 tackles, 16 sacks, nine forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries, three passes defensed and one interception all while working in a rotation with fellow outside linebackers Watt and Highsmith.
His production has also climbed each year. After recording three sacks as a rookie, Herbig posted 5.5 sacks in 2024 before setting a new career high with 7.5 sacks in 2025. He has not only become an important rotational contributor but has also positioned himself as a cornerstone of the franchise’s future at outside linebacker.
Steelers legend James Harrison thinks it was a great move by general manager Omar Khan to get Herbig signed long-term.
“Nah, that’s not a lot … So this right here is a great, great move,” Harrison said of Herbig’s contract extension on the latest episode of the Deebo & Joe podcast. “Great deal. Omar is cooking, Mike McCarthy is cooking. And as he said in his quote, he said, ‘You can never have enough good 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 also gave tight end Darnell Washington a contract extension last week. Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and defensive lineman Keeanu Benton are next in line from the 2023 draft class to get extensions. Porter is expected is to cash in on a hefty payday.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Nick Herbig Reveals Moment That Changed His Career: ‘Don’t Ever Let That Happen Again’
