PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – There was talk of it before the draft and even after he was selected by the Steelers as the 132nd overall pick. The potential of moving Wisconsin outside linebacker Nick Herbig inside.
While working players in different positions in training camp is commonplace in Latrobe, Herbig only worked at outside linebacker. There was no toying with position flexibility. Steelers were coming off a couple of years straight where they lacked depth behind TJ Watt and Alex Highsmith and wanted to make sure Herbig was locked in on potentially helping them outside this year.
"I'm not saying Nick Herbig can't, but I'm not sure that's the best thing for Nick Herbig and for us," said Steelers defensive coordinator Teryl Austin. "Nick will get some quality reps outside as we get down the stretch and help us there. I think he'll be more helpful for us as a rusher right now than as an inside backer."
"Does he have the ability and aptitude to do it, yeah, but we're talking about a guy stepping in whatever week, 14, whatever it is, and being a signal caller and doing a lot of things he hasn't done."
"I don't know if I'd strap him with that at this point."
While able to use his quickness on the outside, he needs to gain weight, not only moving forward in his current position, but also for any position change. In 12 games this season, Herbig has a pair of sacks, four tackles for loss and 14 tackles playing 12% of the defensive snaps.
Considering they've signed a pair of linebackers who were previously retired and another who was unemployed, expect Herbig to remain outside at least for the rest of this season.
Other options
Signed just a couple of weeks ago, Mykal Walker is likely the signal-caller for this defense on Thursday, although Elandon Roberts has not been ruled out and is questionable with a groin injury. Second-year linebacker Mark Robinson is not ready to be a three-down linebacker, although will play a number of snaps.
Blake Martinez and Myles Jack are next up, both retired but came back to sign on the practice squad. Mike Tomlin said they value guys with NFL experience. He said he hoped they had more time to prepare not only mentally, but physically. Tomlin said both guys have a passion for the game, they saw that with Jack last year, it was just his body broke down.
Those on the defense last year know Myles Jack, they know Martinez is a veteran, but those guys have to be able to do the job. They also have to be part of the solution to the communication breakdowns we saw a few times on Sunday. The crowd will be fired up against the Patriots offense, which makes that more challenging at home.
"Coach Tomlin always says you give a capable man information and he runs with it," said linebacker Alex Highsmith. "Whoever is in there, we are going to provide them with whatever we need. Being the middle backer, the green dot, that's where all the communication starts."
"It's critical," said defensive captain Cam Heyward of the position.
"Guys got to step up. I think we got some good guys behind that can help out. It's not easy. Communication is so important, it has to be so detailed on the defensive side of the ball. We'll see what happens in such a little bit of time, but we have our work cut out for us."
