Steelers, linebacker Nick Herbig agree to a four-year extension, AP source says

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Nick Herbig wants to be a Pittsburgh Steeler for life.

The outside linebacker is well on his way after agreeing to a new four-year deal on Tuesday that will keep him in Pittsburgh for the rest of the decade, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press. The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract has not yet been made public.

Herbig, a fourth-round pick out of Wisconsin in 2023 whose sack total has ticked up in each of his three seasons, was entering the final year of his rookie contract. He skipped some — but not all — portions of practice during Tuesday's mandatory minicamp in an effort to protect his body while his agent and the Steelers ironed out the details.

“I mean business is business,” Herbig said a few hours before the new deal was finalized. “You know, I’m a football player. I’m here for football. I try to keep business separated from football as much as I can.”

The agreement is worth up to $100 million, heady territory for a player thought to be a little too small (6-foot-2, 240 pounds) to thrive in the NFL after winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2022.

Herbig essentially attached himself to perennial Pro Bowl edge rusher (and fellow Wisconsin alum) T.J. Watt after arriving in Pittsburgh, and the student has wasted little time emulating his mentor.

Herbig had 3 1/2 sacks as a rookie in 2023, 5 1/2 in 2024 before a breakout season in 2025, when he had 7 1/2 sacks (one-half more than Watt), forced three fumbles, picked off a pass and pounced on a loose ball in the end zone against Chicago in November for the first touchdown of his career.

First-year Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy met with Herbig in Arizona in March. While McCarthy understood the “business opportunity" Herbig was facing, he also praised Herbig for doing the necessary offseason work and being in constant communication with the club throughout the process.

“It’s great to have Nick here,” McCarthy said. “Nick’s excited about being here.”

The signing means the Steelers have devoted a significant chunk of their salary cap to outside linebackers. Watt is scheduled to have a cap hit of $42 million this season, with Alex Highsmith's set at just over $20 million. Herbig was scheduled to make $3.8 million this year before the big payday.

Pittsburgh doesn't view putting that much money into one position group as a luxury but a necessity. When all three are healthy — hardly a given considering each missed time in 2025 — the Steelers believe they have as deep and effective an edge rushing group as there is in the league.

Asked if he considers himself a starter considering Watt and Highsmith have been entrenched at the position for the better part of a decade, Herbig shrugged.

“I'm a Steelers, you know,” he said. “There’s no starters and backups. It’s ‘I’m a Steeler.’”

Locking up Herbig means Pittsburgh general manager Omar Khan could move on to getting something done with cornerback Joey Porter Jr.

Like Herbig, Porter is entering the final year of his rookie contract. Like Herbig, Porter has excelled during his relatively brief time in the NFL. Like Herbig, Porter wants to be in Pittsburgh for a long time and, like Herbig, he bypassed a handful of Tuesday's practice segments as a precaution.

“I want to be out there,” Porter said. “Everybody knows I want to be out there. So I’m just doing everything I can and taking it day by day.”

At the moment, “everything" for Porter doesn't mean quite everything. He skipped the 11-on-11 offense vs. defense portion of drills, though he participated in walkthroughs and some individual exercises. Porter did not consider skipping minicamp an option, feeling it was important to be around the new coaching staff as Pittsburgh prepares for its first season under McCarthy following Mike Tomlin's somewhat surprising resignation after 19 years leading the Steelers.

“I really just want to show him and just even the new coaching staff that I’m down for it," he said. “I’m here for the new process, the new change. And that was really the main reason why I went to his introduction, the main reasons why I’m still here.”

Porter, the first pick of the second round in the 2023 draft, blossomed into one of the better cornerbacks in the league last season. The son of four-time Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter Sr. hasn't allowed a passing touchdown since his rookie season. His combination of size (6-foot-2) and football intelligence have allowed him to take on more responsibility with each passing year.

Asked if he believes he's at the point in his evolution where he considers himself one of the best shutdown corners in the NFL and if it's important for him to be compensated as such, Porter nodded.

To be among the highest-paid players at his position, any new deal for Porter would need to average somewhere in the mid-$20 million range. The Pittsburgh native seems confident it will happen.

“I feel like I was an elite guy since I’ve been in this league,” he said. “And I’m happy that I’m getting the respect that I feel I (am) owed.”

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Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., right, participates in the team's NFL football practice in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. participates in the team's NFL football practice in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers T.J. Watt (90), Nick Herbig (51) and Alex Highsmith (56) participate in the team's NFL football practice in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt (90) and Nick Herbig participate in the team's NFL football practice in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Democrats will choose their U.S. House nominee on Tuesday in a New Jersey battleground district represented by Republican incumbent Tom Kean Jr., who's been absent from Congress for months as he deals with an unspecified medical issue.

New Jersey's 7th District, which includes suburban towns and rolling farmland — and one of President Donald Trump's golf clubs — is the state's highest-profile primary. Four Democrats are competing to take on Kean, whose aides have said he plans on seeking a third term.

Kean's absence — his last vote was in early March — has supercharged interest in the seat, which Democrats view as key to winning control of the narrowly divided House and Republicans recognize as important to defend. Voters in the district have ousted two incumbents during midterm elections over the past decade.

Trump endorsed Kean in a social media post late Monday and didn't mention his absence from Congress or his medical issue.

“A Tremendous Advocate of our America First Agenda, Tom is working tirelessly,” the president said.

Kean issued a statement on Tuesday saying “I will continue putting our constituents first” and “I am optimistic about the road ahead.”

“Right now I am focused on my recovery and under the advice of healthcare professionals. I will transition from virtual work to in person work within a matter of weeks,” Kean said. “I look forward to sharing my experience with the public.”

Kean told a local political blog nearly two weeks ago that he expected to be back “in the next couple of weeks.”

Democratic voters are deciding between Rebecca Bennett, a former Navy helicopter pilot whose background mirrors Gov. Mikie Sherrill 's; Michael Roth, a former Small Business Administration official; Tina Shah, an intensive care unit doctor; and Brian Varela, a businessman with backing from progressive groups.

The campaign has been hotly contested, with each candidate bringing in seven figures in fundraising and walking a line between appealing to the party's base and to more independent general election voters.

Bennett's campaign has come under fire from a political action committee that's spent about $650,000 in the primary, attacking her from the left. Bennett said in an interview she believes the group, whose donors haven't been disclosed, is Republican-backed and aiming to weaken her candidacy because they fear her in the general election.

The Democrats are leaning into the rising costs of groceries and gasoline caused by the Iran war and Trump's sweeping tariffs. They're casting blame at Republicans and Kean in particular, who they say is a bad fit for the district, pointing to his support for the president's signature tax cut legislation.

The district was redrawn after the most recent census to become more favorable to Republicans, but it's gone back and forth in recent years. Kean ousted incumbent Democrat Tom Malinowski in 2022, who defeated Republican Rep. Leonard Lance in 2018.

Also being watched Tuesday is a Republican Senate primary. The party has been adrift in New Jersey since last year, when its Trump-backed candidate for governor lost by double digits. Voters face a four-way race between attorney Justin Murphy, surgeon Robert Lebovics, Army veteran Richard Tabor and former TV reporter Alex Zdan.

The winner will face Democratic Sen. Cory Booker, who is running for a full third term.

More House seats could have noteworthy campaigns in the fall.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew is seeking a fifth term in southern New Jersey’s 2nd District. He was originally elected as a Democrat but switched to the Republican Party during Trump's first term.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman is retiring from the heavily Democratic 12th District in central New Jersey, where a crowded primary field is vying to succeed her.

Dr. Adam Hamawy, a surgeon and Army veteran, has shot to prominence with endorsements from independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and other progressives. Some of his opponents recently began criticizing him over his connection to Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind Egyptian cleric convicted in 1995 of conspiring to blow up the United Nations and other New York-area landmarks.

Hamawy was a defense witness in the sheikh's trial but wasn’t accused of wrongdoing. He has condemned violence and distanced himself from the sheikh during the campaign. Abdel-Rahman died in federal prison in 2017.

Republicans are picking their nominee in northern New Jersey's 9th District, choosing between attorney Tiffany Burress and Clifton City Councilwoman Rosie Pino, to take on first-term Democratic Rep. Nellie Pou. Pou's margin of victory in 2024 was narrower than her long-serving predecessor, Rep. Bill Pascrell, and coincided with Trump winning a county in the district.

A sign directs voters to a polling place for the New Jersey primary election in Cherry Hill township, N.J., Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

A person walks from a polling place for the New Jersey primary election in Oaklyn, N.J., Tuesday, June 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

FILE - This photo combination shows Democrat candidates for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District, from left, Rebecca Bennett, May 30, 2026, in Flemington, N.J., Brian Varela, May 30, 2026, in Sparta, N.J. and Michael Roth, May 31, 2026, in Rahway, N.J. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah)

FILE - In this Jan. 15, 2019, file photo, New Jersey Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean Jr., R-Westfield, addresses reporters in Trenton, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)