Nose tackles are often defined only one way: plug the run. A job description to occupy the middle of a defense, take on blocks, and free everyone else. NFL nose tackle Breiden Fehoko isn’t defined in one way. And with an offseason transformation, he doesn’t look like a nose tackle anymore, either.
Make no mistake. He’s not retiring. At least, it’s not his goal. From weighing 327 pounds at the end of the Steelers’ 2024 season, he now tips the scales at about 285 pounds. Four teams have called, one asked him to work out, and even a reunion with Pittsburgh isn’t entirely off the table. But patience is a virtue and Fehoko is exercising it to maximize his next move.
In an hour-long Monday conversation that spanned a variety of topics, Fehoko made clear he enjoyed his two years in Pittsburgh. Despite never getting into a regular-season game, once dressing but never stepping on the field, Fehoko appreciated the Steelers’ mindset and culture. An injury during camp nearly one year ago ended his chance to make the team’s initial 53-man roster. It came during the goal line session of the team’s padded training camp practice, though the freak nature of it doesn’t have Fehoko regretting the Steelers’ notoriously tough practices.
“I’m in the A gap, so everything comes through there,” Fehoko tells me in our interview. “So I tackle one of [the running backs] and I bring him down. And he’s on me, so I’m on the bottom of the pile. His helmet is on my left pec. And so I’m on the pile holding him. And then, one after another, there’s just like a slow dog pile of defenders trying to make sure he stops from inching [into the end zone]. And offensive guys trying to push in. Maybe it was the fifth or sixth person to pile up on there.
“And then I just felt like my chest just kind of [pop]. It was like a little snip in my pec. I had a partially torn pec, and I was out for two months.”
Sent to injured reserve and soon released after with an injury settlement, the Steelers promised to sign him back once healthy. The front office followed through on its word, bringing Fehoko back to the practice squad in October. However, with a defensive line that stayed relatively healthy, Fehoko never received a call-up. After the season, he decided to re-evaluate, and pushed himself to drop weight. This offseason, he dropped 37 pounds.
“I just kind of wanted to mentally challenge myself and see if I could do it,” he said. “I originally did it when the season was done. I was like, you know what? I’m gonna try to shoot and lose 20 pounds or so. And then I dropped like the first 15, 20. And then I was like, you know what? Let me go for 30. And then I did that, and I was like, you know what? Let me do a water fast.”
Losing weight wasn’t just about looking different. It was about feeling different. Fehoko didn’t just change his diet but learned about what makes his body tick—what it needs and what it has enough of.
“I went to go get some blood work testing. Wanted to see what I was deficient in. I recommend everybody to do it. It’s to see what foods your body breaks down well. What foods your body doesn’t break down. I found out I lacked a lot of iron in my body. Potassium and magnesium…I got those supplements to take daily.
“And then I found out my body was producing more creatine than I needed. So what that told me was, I don’t need to eat as much red meat. And I don’t need to eat as much protein as I think I need. And so that really helped out. Because there were days where I’d be training and I’d eat a lot of protein and I’d figure, man, why is my body feeling really lethargic? Come to find out my body wasn’t digesting the protein because I was already overproducing it.”
It’s a new-look Fehoko with the same NFL goals. His focus is on finding the right fit to get him back on the field.
“This next season is finding somewhere where I can really get my feet wet. Instead of just being so eager to go into something, weighing the options with my agent about going somewhere where having a true shot at cracking the two deep. Getting back to where I was the first three years of my career as a rotational player and even being a starter late in the season, Year Three.”
Fehoko carries no grudge for not seeing action with Pittsburgh. The chance to watch and learn was valuable. Above all, he never felt misled about his role or situation.
“[Mike Tomlin] said, the door’s open for business,” Fehoko said of his last conversation with Tomlin earlier this year. “He was always appreciative of the way I handled myself, especially the last two years there. I knew Mike T. was very open to me. He was always open about my role. He always reiterated that, man, it’s hard as a nose tackle to carry two, let alone three, on the active roster. We were in Pittsburgh, we were lucky to carry two on the active roster, you know, with Keeanu and Montravius. But he was like, man, don’t get it twisted. There’s still a need for nose tackles in the NFL.”
Fehoko spent his time practicing with the team, learning and bonding with defensive line coach Karl Dunbar, who attended LSU like Fehoko, and the collaborative relationship the defensive line room had with him. It wasn’t “I coach, you listen,” but a group coming together to find the winning formula.
“That’s where our relationship grew. From coach to player was just being able to challenge each other in the classroom. In the film room setting of, like, ‘Hey, this block, I see it this way.’ Or they run this play because we’re in this defense, and I think this play works versus that kind of play. And we’d have these conversations in the film room.”
Fehoko’s teammates also raised the standard, none more so than the leader of the room, Cam Heyward. Strong and tough on the field, Heyward was also a creative gift-giver off it, surprising Alex Highsmith with a puppy for Secret Santa two Christmases ago.
“The one that stands out the most was like Secret Santa,” Fehoko says of his favorite Heyward story. “He brought a box, and within the box, there was a bunch of random goodies. It was like candies and things you would see at a Dollar General store. There was a Mandalorian mask. It was super random. At the bottom, there was an envelope, and it was like a certificate for the kennel…which is Alex’s dog now, Ace.”
“I think it just goes to show like Cam’s personality,” Fehoko continued. “Cam’s a super hard worker. I mean, Cam will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Cam definitely hates hearing people talk about him because he’s super modest dude. But it goes to show his personality. How he’s able to relate to guys. Super serious when it’s time to lock in. In the locker, man, he’s, he’s playing cards. He’d be joking around with me on Saturdays about eating too much fried chicken from Popeyes that the rookies would buy.
“But that was Cam, man. Cam could relate to anybody in the locker room. And I think that’s one thing that I’m appreciative. Because not a lot of star players are willing to talk to the smaller fish in the locker room. And that’s just, that’s straight up. That’s around the league wherever you go.
“Most star players won’t take the time out and have the time of day to sit back and ask a guy what’s up. Or for Christmas, get the guys a watch, a display case. A nice one, too. Or bottles of wine. And that’s one thing I appreciate about Cam and T.J. [Watt] were those guys, if you are in the room and you grind with them. Man, they appreciated you. And they showed you love and respect. It’s not like that everywhere else. And I can genuinely say I appreciate those guys for that.”
Fehoko has the curiosity of a future coach, though he admits he’s unsure if that’s the path he’ll choose. Tomlin and the Steelers have practically already made him the offer to jump at the chance if he wants it, but Fehoko knows the non-stop grind of a coach is more intense than a player. Players like him might get home by six. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and defensive coordinator Teryl Austin? Fehoko says they’re often in their offices past midnight.
Fehoko has been vocal about the NFLPA’s recent turmoil, which has seen Executive Director Lloyd Howell Jr. and Chief Strategy Officer J.C. Tretter resign. Their replacements aren’t clear, and Fehoko doesn’t have a name in mind. All he knows is that leadership must start completely fresh.
“It’s kind of hard for me to put support into anyone that’s been involved in the regime of leadership that’s been a part of the union for this last CBA moving forward,” he says. “If the leadership at hand is responsible for a burning boat and a sinking ship, I don’t want that leadership to be responsible for the next ship I set sail on. And I don’t think any NFL player that’s playing right now actively, and that’s retired or coming up into the NFL, should put faith in that leadership that was responsible for burning and sinking those ships.”
He acknowledges that most young players, himself included during his initial years in the league, are only focused on their paycheck. Not collective bargaining issues. The union lacks a system to educate players about its role and the goals players should advocate for as a collective. That’s why the union has often felt weak and ineffective, and with more CBA battles on the horizon, the NFLPA must chart a better course.
Fehoko predicts that in exchange for an 18-game season, which could come as soon as next year, the NFL will modify its offseason program. Traditional spring OTAs and minicamp will be eliminated. Instead, teams won’t come together until mid-July and ramp-up into the season from there. An idea floated two years ago but never implemented. It evidently remains on the table.
“I’m kind of going off of how COVID was, how we did everything virtually. The injuries minimized drastically when they did things that way…So after the NFL showed us that way of, this is an option, and we can do it this way. Older players especially kind of gravitated towards that. When I think about an 18-game season, what are we going to ask for? I think of that as one of the first things. Because I know for a while now it’s been talked about. People in the union want to abolish the offseason. They just want to get rid of it.”
A former undrafted free agent who clung to roster spots and has spent time on the practice squad, Fehoko believes the rights of the “little guy,” the non-stars who populate the majority of NFL rosters, can’t be forgotten.
“One of the biggest things we need to fight for as players outside of guaranteed contracts is our healthcare. I think with the way player and safety is, instead of asking for guaranteed money, I think we should be asking for lifetime healthcare.”
Under current rules, all players receive healthcare for only their first five years after retirement. From there, they’re on their own. Stories can turn tragic in a sport where injuries can last a lifetime. Fehoko also argued that salaries for all players, even non-vested ones, should become guaranteed after the start of the season. That will prevent true journeymen from bouncing around the league and practically losing money.
“I watched guys play for four or five teams throughout the year. And have to move, sign a lease somewhere, buy out of that lease, sign a new one. It’s crazy. So that’s one of the first things if I was a union rep I’d do. I’d have more security for a practice squad player. I’d do it to where if you’re on a practice squad for the first three weeks of the year with that team, then your salary guarantees for the year.”
He also argues for the NFL formally adopting a spring league like the UFL as a true minor league feeder. That will create a pipeline for teams, sort of like the old NFL Europe, while giving young players live reps as the league keeps whittling away at preseason opportunities.
As NFL training camps open, Fehoko might not be a free agent much longer. The attrition of the summer will create injuries, and the league’s interest in him will only grow. Beyond his playing career, he talks like a future heady coach or strong union rep, giving him plenty of doors to open once he hangs up his cleats.
