The tough battle between Nate Herbig and Zach Frazier for the starting center spot appears to have just ended. According to the PPG’s Gerry Dulac, Herbig suffered a “significant’ shoulder injury that is expected to keep him out several weeks. That will cement Frazier’s status as the Steelers’ first-team center for the remainder of the preseason and the start of the regular season.
Herbig suffered the injury late in Wednesday’s practice, the final day of training camp. During an o-line blocking drill while the skill players went through a 7-on-7 session period, trainers spent several minutes pulling Herbig off to the side and examining him, looking at his left arm and shoulder, as we noted during our daily camp observations. He soon walked up the stairs with a trainer and into the team facility.
Mike Tomlin didn’t comment on the injury post-practice but was asked about it when Nate Herbig missed Thursday’s joint session against the Buffalo Bills. Tomlin deemed it a “training camp injury” without expanding on severity or timeline. Per Dulac, the injury is serious. He appeared on 102.5 DVE Saturday afternoon to detail Herbig’s situation.
“Nate Herbig, not only got not going to play tonight he’s not going to play for a long period of time,” Dulac said. “Just before we went on the air, I was told that he has a significant shoulder injury that’s gonna keep him out for an extended period. And even though he was on the fast track anyhow, that certainly cements Zach Frazier into that role as a starting center. Not only tonight, but for the regular season in Atlanta.”
Dulac believes that Frazier will retain his starting job even when Herbig healed, noting the team would go “full bore” into the season and not mess with the lineup unless there was a serious reason to change it. Dulac also said that even had Herbig been healthy, Frazier “probably” would’ve started at center against the Falcons anyway.
Herbig enjoyed a solid start to training camp, running as the team’s first-team center throughout the first two weeks. But after two botched exchanges with QB Justin Fields in the preseason opener against the Houston Texans, Frazier began cutting into his first-team work.
Frazier will get the start for tonight’s game against the Buffalo Bills and assuming good health, the preseason finale against the Detroit Lions and into the regular season. Pittsburgh’s second-round pick out of West Virginia, Frazier had an uneven start to camp but played better toward the end and had a strong debut last Friday against the Houston Texans. Now, he’s poised to take over as the team’s starting center, something that was inevitable but perhaps sooner than expected given Herbig’s injury.
Assuming Herbig isn’t available Week 1, either on IR or inactive, it’s not immediately clear who the Steelers’ backup center will be. Spencer Anderson regularly snapped before practice and saw some reps at center during his rookie year but didn’t work there during the team period this camp. Veteran Ryan McCollum ran third-team center throughout camp and is an option, though he wasn’t expected to make the 53-man roster prior to this news.
Rookie guard Mason McCormick picked up a handful of center reps during the final team period of training camp after Nate Herbig was injured, though his experience at the pivot is limited. Pittsburgh could also explore the waiver wire and free agent pool after cutdowns.
