Chiefs Could Make WR Addition?
As spring practices take place around the league, teams will evaluate their rosters before pursuing free agent moves. The Chiefs could find themselves aiming for veteran reinforcements with respect to at least one position, though.
During an appearance on SportsCenter (h/t Bleacher Report), ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler named the Chiefs as candidate to bring in a receiver via free agency. Plenty of experienced wideouts are still on the market deep into the offseason, something which will no doubt remain the case through to training camp. The receiver position has been a talking point throughout the spring for Kansas City.
Efficiency in the passing game was a 2025 issue before and after Patrick Mahomes‘ ACL tear, while Marquise Brown departed in free agency. In spite of that, no veteran additions were made by general manager Brett Veach during the early stages of the offseason. Kansas City then waited until the fifth round of the draft to select a wideout (Cyrus Allen). He will look to carve out a role this summer alongside the likes of Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy and Tyquan Thornton.
Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen and Tyreek Hill are unsigned at this time. Hill spent his first six seasons in Kansas City, and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid did not rule out a reunion earlier this spring. Nevertheless, a tepid market currently exists for Hill, whose Dolphins tenure ended with an expected release. The 32-year-old is recovering from a major knee injury which ended his 2025 campaign. Hopkins was briefly with the Chiefs after arriving via trade in 2024, and he too would be a familiar option to consider.
Kansas City currently has less cap space than every NFL team but the Dolphins. With roughly $6MM in available funds, a big-ticket addition will not be feasible at the WR position or any other. Of course, a signing for any veteran still on the market at this point will come on a one-year deal which is low on guaranteed money. The Chiefs’ OTAs will take place in late May with minicamp soon to follow. Depending on how those practices unfold, the possibility of additional pass catching help being sought out will be something to monitor.
Packers Sign Round 2 CB Brandon Cisse, Wrap Draft Class Deals
MAY 16: Cisse secured full guarantees in his first three years, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 notes. That includes a $3.31MM signing bonus. An additional $821K is locked in for the final season of the pact, meaning the agreement falls in line with expectations given other second-round deals in 2026.
MAY 14: The Packers were among the teams that did not make a first-round pick in this year’s draft. In Round 2, they made South Carolina cornerback Brandon Cisse their top investment this year.
Green Bay has now signed Cisse to his four-year rookie contract, per a team announcement. This wraps the Packers’ rookie business for 2026, with the team signing the rest of its picks and UDFA class this month.
Cisse arrived as the No. 52 overall pick in this year’s class. His deal should be expected to come in nearly fully guaranteed. The Falcons set a draft precedent today by fully guaranteeing No. 48 overall pick Avieon Terrell‘s rookie contract, moving the bar for fully guaranteed second-round deals by eight draft slots from 2025. As recently as 2024, no second-rounder had secured four guaranteed years. It would surprise if Cisse’s contract matches Terrell’s, but the new Wisconsin resident will likely see at least three fully guaranteed years with some 2029 money partially guaranteed.
The Colts gave linebacker C.J. Allen, chosen 53rd overall, three fully guaranteed years. He also received a $639K guarantee on his $2.13MM 2029 base salary. This package comes out to 83.7% of Allen’s rookie contract being guaranteed. Cisse will be expected to do a bit better due to his draft slot. By 2027, players chosen beyond 50th overall figure to see fully guaranteed deals. And Allen’s negotiating victory will help players chosen after Terrell in this year’s draft.
Playing primarily on the boundary with the Gamecocks, Cisse allowed catches on only 34.6% of his targets in 2025. He transferred from NC State to South Carolina in 2025. While only finishing his career with two interceptions (in three seasons), Cisse drew extensive pre-draft interest. He visited the Cowboys and Seahawks before being drafted by the Packers, who released Nate Hobbs one season into a four-year, $48MM deal. Hobbs’ quick exit came a year after the team cut Jaire Alexander and let Eric Stokes leave in free agency.
Cisse profiles as a player who will become a Green Bay starter, possibly as early as 2026, though the team does return Keisean Nixon and Carrington Valentine. The Packers also signed Benjamin St-Juste to a two-year, $10MM accord. Counting slot defender Javon Bullard, Cisse is the sixth first- or second-round CB the Packers have drafted over the past decade.
Via PFR’s team by team tracker, here is how the 2026 Packers draft class breaks down:
- Round 2, No. 52: Brandon Cisse (CB, South Carolina) (signed)
- Round 3, No. 77 (from Buccaneers): Chris McClellan (DT, Missouri) (signed)
- Round 4, No. 120: Dani Dennis-Sutton (EDGE, Penn State) (signed)
- Round 5, No. 153 (from Falcons via Eagles): Jager Burton (C, Kentucky) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 201: Domani Jackson (CB, Alabama) (signed)
- Round 6, No. 216 (from Steelers)*: Trey Smack (K, Florida) (signed)
Giants Valued At $10.8 Billion For Divestment
Back in March, revelations that Giants co-owner Steve Tisch had been heavily mentioned in the files connected to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein led the team’s family ownership to make a request to the NFL’s finance committee to transfer their ownership stakes into separate trusts to benefit each co-owners’ respective children. In preparation for this potential divestment of equity, the franchise was valued at $10.8 billion, according to Mike Ozanian of CNBC.
The reported amount underlines the recent breaching of NFL franchise values into 11 figures. After a $4.65 billion sale of the Broncos in 2022 and a $6.05 billion sale of the Commanders in 2023, prices have skyrocketed for NFL ownership is just a few years. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross reportedly rejected a $10 billion offer to sell the Dolphins in 2024, but he did get a valuation of $12.5 billion in the process of selling a 10-percent total stake in the franchise later that year.
A consistent increase following the Denver and Washington deals would put a proper valuation in 2026 at about $10.25 billion, landing New York’s value just above that range. According to Darryl Slater of NJ.com, the three Tisch siblings started with a 45-percent stake in the team, but after previously transferring portions of their ownership stake to their children in 2023 and 2024, their remaining untransferred equity combines to a 23.1-percent ownership stake with an approximate value of $2.5 billion.
Back when the valuation occurred in March, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk noted that the surrendering of Tisch’s team equity wasn’t ending his tenure with the team, reporting that Tisch would “continue to serve as chairman of the franchise’s board of directors.” Florio went on to observe that the NFL seemingly decided that Tisch’s divestment solved their problem of whether or not to investigate the matter, but Tisch’s remaining presence with the team still poses an issue.
Tisch’s involvement hasn’t quite been as removed as just the chairman of the board, though. As John Fennelly of Giants Wire reported, Tisch was seen front and center in the Giants’ draft room throughout the 2026 NFL Draft. While his ownership stakes have continued to move safely to his children, ensuring the value stays within his family, his involvement with the team has continued as usual with no hint of NFL involvement in sight.
NFL Injury Updates: Jones, Bell, Ford-Wheaton
The Steelers recently used their first-round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor after drafting two tackles in just the last three years in Georgia-product Broderick Jones and Washington-product Troy Fautanu. There was some belief that this could be a result of Jones undergoing neck surgery earlier in the offseason, but Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports that Pittsburgh is optimistic Jones will be ready for training camp.
Jones first three seasons in Pittsburgh haven’t gone swimmingly. After taking over a starting role midway through his rookie year, Jones has started 38 of a possible 51 games. According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), Jones hasn’t ranked any better than 62nd out of 81 players graded at his position in any of his three seasons. With Iheanachor coming in to compete for a role on the offensive line, Jones will want to make sure he’s ready to return by training camp in order to retain his starting spot.
The team has claimed Iheanachor will start his career at right tackle, opposite Jones’ usual position, but if Iheanachor is expected to start as a rookie, that means the usual right tackle, Fautanu will be looking for a new role. A former left tackle for the Huskies, Fautanu could be asked to return to that side of the line for the first time in his NFL career and compete with Jones.
Here are a couple other injury updates from around he NFL:
- New Dolphins wide receiver Chris Bell was a projected first-round talent out of Louisville before suffering a torn ACL in his final collegiate season. Days before the draft, NFL insider Jordan Schultz claimed that Bell was reportedly “ahead of schedule in his ACL recovery and expected to be ready by training camp.” Per Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald, though, Bell is likely to “open training camp on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list.” Even if Bell’s rookie debut gets delayed in recovery, it sounds like he stands a descent chance of returning to play fairly early into the year.
- Lastly, Schultz reports that free agent wide receiver Bryce Ford-Wheaton has recently been cleared following recovery from his torn Achilles tendon. The former Giants reserve has been valued on special teams as a gunner and will start working out with new teams soon.
Titans Announce Numerous Staff Changes
In the days following the 2026 NFL Draft, there was an early rumor that the Titans were making additions to their scouting staff (via Titans insider Paul Kuharsky). Nearly two weeks later, the Titans finally announced a number of changes to their front office.
The updates included only two external additions of note; Shane Normandeau has been hired to join the Titans as director, pro scout, and Shepley Heard has been named an area scout for Tennessee. Normandeau has been enjoying a return to the personnel side of things as a pro scout for the Vikings the past two seasons after working for two years as football operations coordinator in Cleveland. He joined the Browns as a scouting assistant, holding that role for two years seasons following a football operations internship with the Colts.
Heard is arriving in Nashville following a 21-year tenure with the Falcons. Starting as a scouting assistant in 2005, Heard served two years as a pro scout before spending the next four years as an area scout. He worked the next six years as a regional scout, splitting him time covering the east and west regions, and was promoted to director of pro personnel in 2019. After Terry Fontenot took over as general manager two years later, Heard was demoted down to area scout, where he remained until getting let go after the draft.
There were several promotions in the personnel department. Assistant director of college scouting Mike Boni was named director, college scouting, coordinator, scouting Patrick Woo was named manager, college/pro scouting, regional Wes Slay was named national scout, scouting assistants Alex Kline and Geo Leins were named pro scout and area scout, respectively, executive assistant to the general manager Kristen Van Iderstine was named coordinator, player personnel, and coaches assistant Kevin Perez replaced Van Iderstine as executive assistant to the general manager.
Boni has 20 years of NFL experience with nine in Tennessee. Turning to scouting after coaching at the high school and Division III college levels, Boni spent two years in minor roles in Buffalo before working nine seasons with the Cardinals, two as an NFS scout and seven as an east area scout. He joined the Titans in 2018 as a college scout, moved up to national scout in 2019, and was promoted to senior national scout in 2024 and his most recent role last year.
Woo started as a recruiting intern at Penn State before working as a scouting coordinator for the Senior Bowl. He found his way to the Titans in 2018 and was promoted to college scouting coordinator a year later. He earned a second promotion to his most recent role, and this year’s elevation is already his third in Tennessee. Slay is entering his 13th season with the Titans after joining the team in 2014 as a scouting assistant. He was promoted to midwest area scout before landing in his most recent role.
Kline and Leins were additions to the Titans front office last year. Kline turned to the personnel side of things after his career as a player led him first to coaching. He worked as director of player personnel at Memphis and director of college scouting at Pitt before joining the Titans. Leins also originally came out of college with recruiting roles at Campbell, UCLA, Wake Forest, and NC State. He debuted in the NFL in 2023 as a scouting assistant with the Dolphins before joining the Titans last year.
Van Iderstine has started her climb up the personnel ladder after joining the team last year. She had previously worked a scouting combine internship and Norma Hunt fellowship with the Chiefs and had collegiate experience as director of football administration at Brown and associate director of football recruiting operations at Stanford. Her replacement, Perez, joined the Titans last year after working equipment and football operations internships with the Jaguars every year since 2020.
In operations, the Titans promoted team operations assistants Nick Hardesty and Kieran Gilbert to director, team operations, and coordinator, team operations, respectively, and assistant to the president of football operations Nicole Kesten to chief of staff, football. Hardesty earns his promotion after five years with the team with prior experience in football operations with the Volunteers in Knoxville. Kesten started her NFL career in Tennessee two years ago as the senior executive assistant to the president of football operations, earning title bumps in each subsequent offseason.
Lastly, in the data analytics department, out is director of football research and development Sarah Bailey, according to ESPN’s Seth Walder. Bailey joined the Titans in 2023, coming over from Los Angeles, where she started in 2017 as a football analyst for the Rams before being promoted to manager – football analytics in 2020. The team also announced that chief of staff of football strategy Bryce Wasserman has been promoted to football counsel/head of football research. This is his third promotion in four years after coming into the role of director of team strategy in 2023.
Ravens Exploring QB Contingencies?
Eight years ago, the Ravens hit the reset button, naming Eric DeCosta as only the second general manager during the team’s tenure in Baltimore and drafting a quarterback who would eventually take over for 10-year starter Joe Flacco. This offseason, the franchise named Jesse Minter as only the fourth head coach in Ravens history, and it seems a similar changing of the guard behind center was explored, as well, according to Jason La Canfora of Sports Illustrated.
Per La Canfora, an NFL general manager informed him that Baltimore was one of “two teams that quietly did the most work on quarterbacks who already have franchise quarterbacks.” While it’s natural to see that, after releasing backup Cooper Rush shortly into free agency, having only two quarterbacks on the roster makes adding, at the very least, some camp arms a priority. The Ravens did just that after the 2026 NFL Draft concluded, but La Canfora’s report refers more to the possibility that Baltimore could’ve used valuable draft capital in search of some possible contingencies should they not be able to reach an extension agreement with star passer Lamar Jackson.
Jackson has been the team’s starter since taking over halfway through his rookie year in 2018. Over that time, the former Heisman Trophy-winner has won two MVP awards, delivered three first-team All-Pro campaigns, and taken his team to the postseason in six of eight tries, reaching the AFC Championship just once. He currently ranks second in many of the franchise’s passing records (behind Flacco) while also ranking second in many of the franchise’s rushing records (behind Jamal Lewis).
Jackson is set to enter the 2026 NFL season on the second-to-last year of a five-year, $260MM extension the team signed him to in 2023. The process that landed him on the historic contract was a rocky one to say the least. A year after exercising the fifth-year option on Jackson’s rookie contract, the Ravens attempted to ink Jackson to an extended contract, but having just missed the last four games of the season and having notched a career-high 13 interceptions, the dual-threat passer turned them down, choosing to bet on himself under the belief that he could add value to any potential extension over another season of play.
Instead, Jackson’s 2022 campaign saw him miss the final five games of the year, complicating contract negotiations a bit. Unable to reach a consensus early into the offseason and with Jackson’s rookie deal coming to an end, the Ravens opted to place a non-exclusive franchise tag on their star quarterback, allowing outside teams to provide Jackson with contract offers knowing that the Ravens would have the ability to either match the offer or be compensated with draft capital if they allowed Jackson to walk. That stalemate ended — after some suspected league-wide collusion — when Jackson signed the five-year deal that is now threatening to end his time in Baltimore.
While the negotiations to keep him in purple and black this time around have not been so visibly contentious, it’s clear the two sides have been unable to come to a consensus. There’s been wide belief in recent weeks that, should the Ravens fail to ink Jackson to another long-term deal in the offseason, it may spell the end of the pair’s longtime union. La Canfora’s report seems to support that notion as it paints a picture of a Baltimore front office doubting its ability to secure Jackson for the future.
The Ravens’ moves post-draft have been those of a team employing camp arms for an offseason program that has, historically, not seen much of Jackson. At the moment, there are five arms in Charm City, consisting of Jackson, primary backup Tyler Huntley, veteran free agent addition Skylar Thompson, and undrafted rookies Diego Pavia and Joe Fagnano. None of the four currently in the room with Jackson pose much threat of giving the Ravens enough confidence to move on from Jackson, but had they succeeded in what La Canfora claims they were attempting to do in the draft, the story might have looked a bit different.
The other team the NFL GM mentioned above that did work on quarterbacks was the Eagles, who did end up drafting a solid passing prospect in North Dakota State’s Cole Payton in the fifth round. The assertion concerning Baltimore isn’t that they were looking to take a late-round flyer; instead, the GM source asserts the Ravens were doing their homework on the likes of Miami’s Carson Beck, Penn State’s Drew Allar, and Arkansas’s Taylen Green. These were late-Day 2, early-Day 3 considerations that ended up landing with teams in insecure quarterback situations where they have more than a slight chance to make an impact.
La Canfora’s GM and a second personnel executive source believe the Ravens were high on Green, whose rushing abilities most-resemble those of Jackson. The imposingly athletic passer ended up landing in Cleveland, where Jackson’s most recent offensive coordinator has just started his first tenure as an NFL head coach. Having failed to acquire any quarterbacks with much promise, the Ravens can simply brush these notions under the rug as they continue their efforts to convince Jackson to stay. If things had lined up differently, though, it seems there was a chance that DeCosta, Minter, and Co. could’ve used a draft pick on a quarterback contingency plan instead of furthering efforts to win now with the current roster makeup.
Steelers Not Expecting Will Howard, Drew Allar To Play In 2026; Latest On Aaron Rodgers
As was the case at this time last spring, the Steelers do not have an established starting quarterback. They are once again awaiting an answer from free agent Aaron Rodgers, who took until early June to join the Steelers last year. Rodgers was in Pittsburgh last week, though the future Hall of Famer did not visit team facilities. While no deal has materialized since then, “all signs” point to Rodgers re-signing, James Palmer of Bleacher Report says.
The Steelers’ decision to wait for Rodgers last year worked out fine during the regular season. The former Packer and Jet posted respectable production over 16 starts, during which the Steelers went 10-6. They lost to Chicago in his only absence, a Week 12 game in which Mason Rudolph started.
The Steelers’ 10-7 finish was good enough to earn an AFC North title, but the Texans trounced them in a 30-6 wild-card round matchup. After losing his seventh straight playoff game, 19-year head coach Mike Tomlin resigned.
Given his affinity for Tomlin, it initially appeared the 42-year-old Rodgers would either retire or play elsewhere in 2026. But the Steelers reopened the door for a second season with Rodgers when they hired Mike McCarthy to replace Tomlin. McCarthy coached Rodgers in Green Bay from 2006-18. The two won the only Super Bowl of their respective careers together in 2010, and Rodgers took home a pair of his four MVP awards under McCarthy.
Rodgers’ MVP form is long gone, but he still looks like the Steelers’ best bet to find a passable starter at this juncture of the offseason. The free agent market has dried up, the draft has passed, and there are no surefire upgrades available via trade.
In the unlikely event Rodgers does not re-up with the Steelers, it would leave them with Rudolph (a career backup), Will Howard and Drew Allar as in-house options. A previous report suggested the Rodgers-less Steelers could stage a competition between Rudolph and Howard, but Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show passes along different information. The Steelers “have no expectations” that Howard or Allar will play this year, according to Kaboly.
Pittsburgh spent a 2025 sixth-rounder on Howard, who won a national championship at Ohio State but has not garnered any meaningful NFL experience. Howard did not take a single snap in his first season.
As for Allar, the third-round rookie from Penn State has serious work to do before he steps foot on a regular-season field in the pros. McCarthy and QBs coach Tom Arth are rebuilding Allar’s mechanics “from the ground up,” Mike DeFabo of The Athletic reports. That suggests Allar could be in for a redshirt season in 2026, regardless of whether Rodgers returns.
The Steelers will continue molding Allar as they begin voluntary OTAs on Monday, which Palmer notes is a date many “have circled” for a potential Rodgers decision. If the Steelers are still without an answer then, Rudolph will presumably enter the proceedings as the de facto QB1. The 30-year-old has just 19 starts on his resume. Rodgers has made 257. Because they placed the uncommon UFA tender on Rodgers, the Steelers will have exclusive negotiating rights with him if he is still unsigned past July 22.
Multiple Teams Had Concerns Over Eagles 2nd-Rounder Eli Stowers’ Knee
The Eagles have counted on tight end Dallas Goedert as one of their top pass-catching options throughout his eight-year career. Goedert is sticking around Philadelphia for a ninth season in 2026, but the team may have drafted his successor in second-rounder Eli Stowers.
The Eagles liked Stowers enough to select him 54th overall, though there were a “few” clubs that had concerns over what is believed to be a “minor” knee issue, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports. The Panthers, who passed on Stowers at pick 49 despite an obvious need at tight end, may have been among those teams. They “weren’t totally comfortable” with taking Stowers, per Fowler, though he does not specify the reason.
As a star high school quarterback, Stowers tore his left PCL and meniscus in 2019. The injury required surgery. Stowers has bounced back nicely from it, but there is nonetheless some leeriness regarding how the 6-foot-4, 239-pounder will hold up in the NFL.
After spending his first two college seasons as a backup QB at Texas A&M, Stowers transferred to New Mexico State in 2023. In the wake of multiple shoulder injuries, he transitioned to tight end. Stowers caught 35 passes for 366 yards and a pair of touchdowns in what proved to be his only season at New Mexico State. He moved to Vanderbilt in 2024 and became one of the most prolific tight ends in the nation. Stowers followed up a 49-catch, 638-yard, five-touchdown 2024 with 62 receptions, 769 yards and four TDs last year. He earned first-team All-SEC honors in both of his seasons with the Commodores. More impressively, Stowers was a unanimous All-American and the John Mackey Award winner (given to the best college tight end) in 2025.
A couple of months after wrapping up his superb Vanderbilt tenure, Stowers continued boosting his stock at the Combine in February. If his knee is a problem, he did a good job hiding it. Stowers’ 45.5-inch vertical leap set a record for his position, and he topped tight ends in the broad jump. He also finished tied for second among TEs in the 40-yard dash (4.51 seconds) and the 10-yard split, trailing only Jets first-rounder Kenyon Sadiq in those events.
Aside from Stowers’ knee, there are legitimate questions about his blocking skills (or lack thereof). But if Stowers’ past knee injury does not affect him going forward, his high upside as a receiving tight end suggests he could turn into a weapon for Philadelphia. With A.J. Brown likely on his way out via trade before next season, the Eagles restocked the cupboard in the draft in adding Stowers and first-round receiver Makai Lemon.
Caleb Lomu Expected To Be Patriots’ Swing Tackle
Patriots first-round pick Caleb Lomu is expected to be the team’s primary swing tackle in 2026, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
The 21-year-old made all 24 of his college starts at left tackle, but New England is committed to keeping 2025 No. 4 pick Will Campbell on the blind side despite an up-and-down rookie year and a rough showing in the Super Bowl. At right tackle, the Patriots have Morgan Moses, who just put up back-to-back season with a top-10 pass blocking efficiency among starting tackles.
Moses, though, is entering his age-35 season with no guaranteed money after this year, which likely positions Lomu as his long-term successor. While the No. 28 pick lined up at left tackle at rookie minicamp, he is expected to take reps on both sides in training camp with first-team reps on his veteran teammate’s rest days, according to Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald.
Lomu said at minicamp that he sees himself “as a tackle in general – left or right side.”
“I just happened to play left in college and that’s what I got comfortable to, playing those three years at left tackle at Utah,” he continued. “My first year there I was kind of a swing tackle.” The former Ute added that he has spent time working on the right side during the pre-draft process.
The Patriots also see a lot of upside in third-round pick Eli Raridon. They rode out a run of seven tight ends on Day 2 before landing him with the 95th overall selection. With Oregon’s Kenyon Sadiq going in the first round, that made Raridon the ninth player selected at his position, but New England “had him ranked considerably higher,” Reiss reports.
With 32-year-old Hunter Henry entering a contract year, Raridon could be the team’s tight end of the future. The 22-year-old only started for one year at Notre Dame, but Patriots de facto general manager Eliot Wolf said the team sees “untapped potential” in the “tremendous athlete.” He will likely spend his rookie year as the team’s TE3 behind Henry and free agent signing Julian Hill, but quickly developing a rapport with quarterback Drake Maye could expand his role.
Nick Herbig’s Role Could Increase In 2026; Big Payday On Horizon?
Steelers outside linebacker Nick Herbig came up as a potential trade candidate before the draft, but general manager Omar Khan downplayed the possibility of a deal. Herbig remains on the roster almost a month later, and it does not appear that will change. He is expected to log even more playing time under new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham in 2026, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
An increase in snaps would be a welcome development for Herbig, who is going into a contract year. Since joining the Steelers as a third-round pick in 2023, the former Wisconsin Badger has made just 11 starts while stuck behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith in the pecking order. With 16 sacks and nine forced fumbles in 45 games, Herbig has still made an impact.
After playing just 17% of defensive snaps as a rookie, Herbig was much more involved during the past two years under the former head coach-coordinator tandem of Mike Tomlin and Teryl Austin. His defensive snap share jumped to 50% in 2024 and climbed to 60% last season, when Watt missed three games with a punctured lung. Herbig stepped up with a career-high 7.5 sacks in 15 games (six starts). He also forced three fumbles and set personal bests in tackles (30), QB hits (18), pass deflections (three) and interceptions (one).
Beyond the traditional numbers, Pro Football Focus ranked Herbig’s performance an outstanding sixth among 119 qualified edge defenders (Highsmith and Watt were 12th and 31st, respectively). Only Myles Garrett, Micah Parsons, Will Anderson, Aidan Hutchinson and Trey Hendrickson earned a better pass-rushing grade than Herbig. Pretty good company.
Teams in need of a pass-rushing boost are likely to take notice if Herbig reaches the open market next year, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who reports there are “plenty” of clubs that would welcome him as a full-time starter. Between the ever-rising $300MM-plus salary cap and the high demand for edge defenders, it would not be a surprise to see Herbig cash in big if he puts up another solid showing in 2026. To name one example, Herbig could land a similar payday to Boye Mafe, who went from the Seahawks to the Bengals in free agency this year. Mafe parlayed 20 sacks and three forced fumbles in 65 games into a $20MM AAV contract (three years, $60MM).
Although a full-time starting gig for Herbig has not been in the cards so far, Kahn has expressed interest in keeping him around for the foreseeable future. It makes sense. Set to turn 25 in November, Herbig is far younger than the soon-to-be 32-year-old Watt and Highsmith, who will play his age-29 season in 2026.
Watt and Highsmith are under contract for at least two more years apiece, but Fowler notes the Steelers could try to trade the former if Herbig sticks around on a new deal. While that would mean parting with a franchise legend, it would also allow the Steelers to get out of an exorbitant contract for an aging player. Watt, who is signed through 2028, is due a fully guaranteed $32MM salary in each of the next seasons. He will also count $42MM against the Steelers’ cap in both of those years.