While the Pittsburgh Steelers have won two of their last three games, there are still issues popping up all over the place. The good news is that they showed the ability to win a game by double digits without recording a takeaway, which has been a problem in years past. The bad news is that the team's bread and butter, the pass rush, has not been a factor in these recent games, as the quarterbacks have been very comfortable in the pocket for the most part, especially in the first three quarters of a game.
Alysa Rubin / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers' TJ Watt stares at Colts' Daniel Jones before snapping the ball during the 2025 season.
Even with the Steelers' new approach to snap counts and positional rotation, it seems like offenses have figured out how to slow this unit down, which makes it much easier for these quarterbacks to take advantage of the zone defense that Pittsburgh likes to run. Even when it does bring the blitz, the pocket doesn't collapse nearly as quickly as the team would hope.
One of the issues with the pass rush comes down to usage. While making an appearance on The North Shore Drive Podcast, insider Ray Fittipaldo brought up how the Steelers are misusing one player in particular.
"A lot of times, when [the Steelers] are playing three outside linebackers, Nick Herbig is lining up over guards and centers, and he's trying to rush from the inside," Fittipaldo said. "And he just hasn't been successful at it. I thought his quickness would allow him to win a lot in these tighter areas, but it's not happening, and for whatever reason, they're not giving him the same number of snaps outside as some of the other guys like Alex Highsmith and TJ Watt."
Edge rusher Nick Herbig had a blank sheet in Week 5, as he failed to even record a single tackle or a pressure against the Indianapolis Colts. That is nothing new either, as he has yet to record a sack so far in the 2026 season. He only had one game where he recorded more than two tackles, and that was in the horrific 20-3 loss back in Week 2. Outside of that, he has not made any sort of impact.
With the Steelers having three highly paid edge rushers, they knew that snap count would be a problem. That's why they keep using the three-outside linebacker sets, to get all of their stars on the field at the same time. That just has not worked for Herbig, and he should get a chance to exclusively play on the edge to see if he can get back to his old self or not in the near future.
Jordan Perez / Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers edge rusher Nick Herbig fires up the crowd during a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers in August of 2026.
The Steelers didn't give Herbig a $100 million extension just so he could constantly get shut down by guards. He even knows that his performance is far from good enough, especially with the money he's making now. It's likely time for Pittsburgh to abandon this strategy and go back to just rotating the outside linebackers all throughout the game to keep them fresh.
Steelers Will Likely Have Herbig Back In Normal Role For 2027
Once 2027 hits, Herbig's massive raise will officially start up. It's very hard for the Steelers to justify keeping all three well-paid players at the same position, even with how talented they all are. It doesn't help that they are currently over $10 million over the cap for that year. Even with salary cap rising each year and some easy moves to free up money, it doesn't make sense to keep everyone around.
The most likely scenario is that Alex Highsmith will be traded, since he would free up a lot of money without having a massive dead cap hit. That would open up plenty of money for the Steelers to make a splash signing, like a starting linebacker or cornerback. That is not an insult towards Highsmith, as he is the ideal edge rusher for any system. He's just the odd man out due to money.
What do you think about Herbig's struggles while rushing from the inside? Let us know on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
#SteelerNation