With LB Cole Holcomb going down for the season with a knee injury, some had floated the idea of moving rookie OLB Nick Herbig inside. After all, many (us included) speculated that would be his NFL home after he got drafted, too lean and lacking length to play on the outside.
Despite losing Holcomb and LB Elandon Roberts’ status looking highly questionable for Sunday’s game against Green Bay, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin dismissed the idea of Herbig seeing his role change.
“Nick? Oh, no, man, Nick is an outside guy,” Austin told reporters via a team-provided transcript.
Herbig has played limited snaps behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith along with veteran Markus Golden in the fold. But he’s made the most of his chances, recording his first NFL sack along with a forced fumble and tackle for loss since the bye week. He’s also played a healthy amount on special teams, seeing roughly double-digit snaps every week.
Austin said he isn’t even thinking about giving Herbig any reps inside.
“Nope, we’re good. We’d better not blow through three linebackers this week.”
While there may be an opening at inside linebacker, trying to move Herbig there on the fly would be difficult. Learning a new position and adjusting to the demands of it is asking a lot from a rookie. Instead, the team will turn toward already established players at the position. Those include second-year man Mark Robinson, who could benefit the most from Holcomb and Roberts’ injuries. There’s also a pair of practice squaders in Tariq Carpenter and Mykal Walker.
Carpenter has been with the team a little longer, signed in early September, but Walker has more NFL experience. A fourth-round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2020, he’s appeared in 49 NFL games, making 20 starts. In 2022, he racked up 107 tackles with two interceptions and became a free agent when the Las Vegas Raiders released him from the practice squad in late October. The Steelers signed him to their practice squad the day before Halloween.
Austin said the team is still getting exposure to Walker but is well aware of his NFL resume.
“Yesterday we got a chance to see him in there with some regular reps and not card team reps as we were getting used to him, so I have a better understanding or idea of him,” Austin said. “But he has been a starter in this league. He’s made a lot of tackles. He’s played football. That’s comforting in that way.”
Veteran Kwon Alexander will handle the bulk of the workload this weekend against the Green Bay Packers and could be a 100 percent-snap player, something he was earlier in his career with Tampa Bay. But the Steelers will have to find someone to pair next to him in their base and nickel packages. They’ll have a plan. But it won’t include Herbig.
