Mike McCarthy said Nick Herbig ‘deserved’ his new deal with the Steelers, after inking a contract that makes him one of the highest-paid ‘reserve’ players in NFL history. It’s a $100M+ deal for the Steelers third edge rusher on the depth chart. Are the Steelers going to make it more of a true 3-man rotation if they don’t deal TJ Watt or Alex Highsmith? It’s hard to take down the snaps for the two players ahead of Herbig.
What does the Nick Herbig contract mean for Joey Porter Jr. or other players that are up for new deals with the Steelers? Is there a real chance Aaron Donald comes back after the Rams traded for Myles Garrett?
Mike Florio from Pro Football Talk joined the show. Mike thinks it will be difficult for Aaron Donald to return to the NFL because it’s so much easier said than done. But does he ponder it a little bit more because Myles Garrett will now face a lot of the attention? Mike reacted to the Nick Herbig deal and thinks the Steelers are opening up business for Alex Highsmith or TJ Watt. He said teams always make the call, it’s just a matter of how long those conversations are. Mike thinks this will actually strengthen the case for Joey Porter Jr. to get paid this offseason. Mike still thinks the trade discussion with TJ Watt begins with a 1st round pick, noting a lot of the recent trades in the NFL. How complicated would a Watt trade be?
