The news of veteran interior offensive lineman Nate Herbig’s shoulder injury being a season-ending one was a tough blow for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Herbig, who signed a two-year deal as a free agent ahead of the 2023 season, was viewed as good, versatile depth to have in the trenches last season. This season, he was vying for the starting center position with rookie Zach Frazier.
But, his injury puts him on the shelf for the season and opens the door for the Frazier Era to start for the Black and Gold earlier than many expected.
While it’s not the way Frazier wanted to earn the role, he now has the job to himself. Though he’s excited to be the starter, he’s disappointed it came at the expense of Herbig, who served as a great mentor for him throughout the offseason and training camp.
For that, Frazier—who spoke to the media Tuesday—expressed his appreciation for Herbig’s mentorship.
“I would never wish that on anyone and I would feel really bad for Nate. But, he really helped me out a lot. And, you know, honestly, in his position, he didn’t have to help me out at all,” Frazier said to reporters, according to video via YardBarker’s Aaron Becker on Twitter. “And I wouldn’t be as far as I am right now without him. So yeah, I’m really thankful for him and he’s still been around, still helping me out, still giving me pointers and tips, which obviously he doesn’t have to do.
“So, really grateful for him. And I’m just gonna put my head down, work, do everything. I do everything that I can.”
It’s very cool that in such a short time, Herbig and Frazier established a great relationship and that even though they were in a battle for the starting job, the two worked well together. That’s the mark of a great teammate, which, by all accounts, is exactly what Herbig is.
It stinks that his season is over because it really hurts the Steelers’ depth, whether he won the starting job or was a backup. Without his versatility and experience behind the starters, the Steelers are worse off, even with rookie Mason McCormick and second-year pro Spencer Anderson in the fold.
Those are two solid players, to be sure, but losing Herbig is a big blow on and off the field, especially for a young player like Frazier, who really respected and admired his mentorship. Sounds like Herbig will be sticking around throughout the season though, so that’s a positive for Frazier, at least.
Hopefully, the West Virginia product took some of Herbig’s advice and is able to translate it to the field, where he’ll be counted on to hold down a key role for the Steelers, not only this season but in the future as well.
