Like Nate Herbig, the Pittsburgh Steelers are right where we are: sitting at home being mad. Although they managed to make the playoffs in 2023, they lost in the first round. It has now been seven years without a postseason victory, the longest drought in franchise history. The question is what to do next.
The first step is always taking stock of what happened and what is left. That’s part of the exit meeting process, in which coaches meet with each player. They discuss the season and their expectations moving forward—and potentially their role within it.
While we might not know all the details about what goes on between head coach Mike Tomlin and his players during these exit meetings, we do know how we would conduct those meetings if they were let up to us. So here are the Depot’s exit meetings for the Steelers’ roster following the 2023 season.
Player: Nate Herbig
Position: Guard/Center
Experience: 5 Years
The Steelers signed Nate Herbig to a two-year, $8 million contract last season as an unrestricted free agent. He started two games in 2023, logging 156 total snaps on offense while adding another 60 on special teams.
RG James Daniels missed two games due to injury in the early portions of the season, leaving Herbig to play. He struggled significantly in his first start against the Houston Texans with particular issues in pass protection. He offered a more even performance a week later against the Baltimore Ravens before returning to the bench.
The Steelers also called upon Herbig in an early December game against the Arizona Cardinals, once again due to injury. This time LG Isaac Seumalo exited the game, but Herbig largely held his own coming off the bench. On the whole, that probably marked his best performance of his three appearances on offense during the season.
With the Steelers releasing C Mason Cole, general manager Omar Khan indicated that Herbig is a potential option to start there. However, he has very limited meaningful experience playing center, just under 50 career regular-season snaps. Most of his playing time at center is from preseason games and training camps. He never played there in college, so he is pretty much untested there under live fire.
I doubt the Steelers go into the 2024 season with Herbig as their starting center. I also doubt that he starts anywhere by design, for example due to the Steelers moving Daniels to center. Odds are the team signs a veteran center and Herbig continues to operate as the top interior reserve.
Struggles to get off clean snaps proved one of Cole’s biggest issues last season. No doubt it factored into their decision to release him, so I can’t imagine they want to trust that job to a player who is only a center in theory, five years into his professional career.
