Steelers' Nate Herbig Hints At Who The Definitive Backup Center Is

The Pittsburgh Steelers have an overwhelming amount of depth on the training camp roster and despite cuts that will be made prior to the 2023 NFL regular season, the second and even third-teams are expected to be trusted if called upon. Head Coach, Mike Tomlin and his staff will have some tough calls to make and may even have to part ways with players whom will be quickly picked up by other franchises. A role on the team that has yet to be truly filled is backup center. No one is quite sure who will step in if Mason Cole were to suffer an injury.

This debate has recently put a former third-round pick under a big microscope. Kendrick Green is currently at the front of the 'needs to be moved on from' list that the media and fans like to come up with this time of year. He has played plenty of snaps at center during the Steelers first two 2023 preseason games, but has been called for multiple penalties and also was at fault for two errant snaps.

After being drafted by Pittsburgh in 2021, Green was not necessarily looked at as a natural center. He was thrown into the fire anyway and struggled throughout his rookie season. He was transitioned to guard after the front office signed Cole in the offseason of 2022, but failed to dress for a single game. This was already hinting at a breakup between he and the team that might not be too far away.

There haven't been many positives to take out of his career thus far and a change in scenery may be what is best for both him and the Steelers. He should get more opportunities at center in the final preseason game when Pittsburgh travels to take on the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday evening. One thing that may prevent him from getting the chance to prove his case one last time, however, and that is if newcomer, Nate Herbig dresses for the game.

Herbig is nursing a shoulder injury and practiced in a limited fashion on Tuesday. He and Ryan McCollum could both unseat Green and lead to the Steelers cutting the disgruntled offensive lineman. When Herbig was speaking to the media regarding his availability, he had an interesting comment that hinted at how he feels about Green's potential fate as roster cutdowns occur.

The Steelers Could Have Already Told Herbig He Will Be The Backup Center

While he is not the backup center on the team's official depth chart, it's probably because he is a guard first. It's quite possible that Herbig is first in relief at center and guard once the regular season kicks off. He absolutely implied that he believes he will be the second-string behind Cole with one simple quote.

“If I am going to play center in a game, I don’t want the first time to be Week 1 against San Francisco,” Herbig said.

Cole is the starting center. Herbig wants reps before the season in case he has to fill in the first week of the season against the San Francisco 49ers. It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together and take out of the quote that he already knows he will be right behind Cole once the games really matter.

If Herbig does indeed assume the role of backup center, Green provides little to no value to the offensive line. The fullback experiment during training camp seems to have all been for show and that is no legitimate reason to keep Green around. There is a very strong possibility that he will play his final game for the Steelers on Thursday night in Atlanta.

Do you hope that the Steelers cut Green and make Herbig the backup center?