The Pittsburgh Steelers interior offensive lineman, Nate Herbig, is among two players competing for the starting center position throughout the offseason. Herbig emerged as the early favorite throughout their first three weeks of training camp. He received the majority of first-team reps with the first-team offense and started in their first preseason game.
Unfortunately, an injury will derail his chances of starting.
The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman suffered a significant injury last week
Nate Herbig exited last Sunday’s practice with an apparent shoulder injury. Herbig hasn’t practiced since and has missed joint practices and their second preseason game. The Steelers believe his injury is significant and he will probably miss the start of the regular season.
This injury paves the way for their rookie to start.
The Pittsburgh Steelers expect their rookie to start Week 1
According to Gerry Dulac, with the injury to Nate Herbig, Zach Frazier takes over the starting center job and starts Week 1. Frazier, the 51st pick in the second round, began as the second-stringer but emerged as the starter since Herbig got injured. He started in their joint practices and their second preseason game.
Nate Herbig, the starting center since the beginning of training camp, has a significant shoulder injury that will keep him out for an extended period of time, per sources. That means rookie Zach Frazier becomes the starter and will begin the regular season there.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) August 17, 2024
Zach Frazier has impressed Mike Tomlin
“Zach has been constantly improving, as has all of those young guys. Man, can’t say enough about that rookie class in the offensive line. I think their strength in community, they work hard, they study together, I just like what I’ve seen from them. But we’ve invested a lot in them and so we’ve got some expectations and so it’s not like we’re surprised,” Mike Tomlin said.
Who will serve as the backup center?
The Steelers haven’t announced their backup center. However, they have three options. Their first option is Ryan McCollum. McCollum is the backup behind Frazier in their depth chart, but he hasn’t played a single snap since 2021.
Their second option is James Daniels. Daniels, their starting right guard, has experience playing center in the NFL, starting eight games and playing 508 snaps with the Bears in 2019. In this scenario, the Steelers would slide him to center and insert Mason McCormick (another option) as the right guard.
Their third option is to sign a free agent. Notable free agents include Scott Quessenberry, Connor McGovern, Tyler Larsen, and Mason Cole. Cole spent the last two seasons in Pittsburgh starting 34 games.
