Nathaniel William Herbig (born July 10, 1998) is an American professional football offensive guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Stanford and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2019.

Nate Herbig
refer to caption
Herbig with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020
No. 71 – Pittsburgh Steelers
Position:Offensive guard
Personal information
Born: (1998-07-10) July 10, 1998 (age 26)
Lihue, Hawaii, U.S.
Height:6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight:334 lb (151 kg)
Career information
High school:Saint Louis (Honolulu, Hawaii)
College:Stanford (2016–2018)
Undrafted:2019
Career history
Roster status:Injured reserve
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2024
Games played:61
Games started:30
Fumble recoveries:1
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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Herbig was born in Lihue, Hawaii and originally grew up in Kalaheo, Hawaii before moving from Kauai to Oahu after his freshman year of high school so that he could attend Saint Louis School in Honolulu.[1] He was named first-team All-State as a senior. Herbig committed to play college football at Stanford after his junior year, but de-committed and re-opened his recruitment shortly after the end of his senior season.[2] He ultimately re-committed to Stanford after considering offers from California and Washington.[3]

College career

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Herbig at Stanford

Herbig played three seasons for the Stanford Cardinal.[4] He played in all 13 of Stanford's games with six starts at left guard and was named a freshman All-American by ESPN.[5] He moved to right guard as a sophomore, making 13 starts and was named first-team All-Pac-12 Conference.

Herbig was named second-team All-Pac-12 as a junior after making six starts at right guard and one start at right tackle while missing six games due to injury.[6] Following his Junior season, Herbig announced that he would forgo his final year of college to declare for the 2019 NFL draft.[7]

Professional career

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Pre-draft

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Pre-draft measurables
Height Weight Arm length Hand span 40-yard dash 10-yard split 20-yard split 20-yard shuttle Three-cone drill Vertical jump Broad jump Bench press
6 ft 3+12 in
(1.92 m)
335 lb
(152 kg)
33+14 in
(0.84 m)
10+18 in
(0.26 m)
5.41 s 1.85 s 3.14 s 5.04 s 8.15 s 24.0 in
(0.61 m)
7 ft 6 in
(2.29 m)
29 reps
All values from NFL Combine[8][9][10]

Although initially projected to be a mid-round pick, Herbig's draft stock fell significantly after a poor performance at the NFL Scouting Combine that included a 40-yard dash time of 5.41 seconds, the slowest run of all 260 participants.[11] He ultimately went unselected in the 2019 NFL draft.[12]

Philadelphia Eagles

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Herbig signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent on April 28, 2019.[13][14] Herbig made his NFL debut on December 15, 2019, against the Washington Redskins.[15] Herbig played in two games in his rookie season.[16]

Herbig made his first career start on September 13, 2020, in the Eagles' season opener against the Washington Football Team.[17] In the 2020 season, he appeared in 15 games and started 12.[18]

After the team suffered injuries to both of their starting guards, Herbig started five games and appeared in five other games at guard for the Eagles in 2021. He was placed on the COVID list on January 3, 2022.[19] In the 2021 regular season, Herbig played in 16 games and started five.[20] He was activated one week later on January 10, missing just one game where the Eagles did not play their starters.[21]

On March 15, 2022, the Eagles placed a restricted free agent tender on Herbig. After signing the tender, he was waived by the team on May 4, 2022.[22]

New York Jets

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On May 5, 2022, Herbig was claimed off waivers by the New York Jets.[23] In the 2022 season, Herbig played in and started 11 games for the Jets.[24] On January 7, 2023, Herbig was placed on injured reserve.[25]

Pittsburgh Steelers

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On March 16, 2023, Herbig signed a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers.[26] On April 28, 2023, the Pittsburgh Steelers coincidentally drafted Herbig's younger brother, Nick Herbig, in the fourth round (128th overall) of the 2023 NFL Draft. His brother plays linebacker and played for Wisconsin.

On August 18, 2024, it was announced that Herbig had suffered a torn rotator cuff and was ruled out for the season.[27][28]

Personal life

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Herbig's father, Bruce, played football and basketball at Lewis & Clark College and his grandfather played football at Wheaton College in Illinois. His younger brother Nick is his teammate with the Pittsburgh Steelers and played linebacker at Wisconsin.[29][30]

References

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  1. ^ Kracz, Ed (August 28, 2019). "Eagles may have found the heir apparent to Jason Kelce's job at center". SI.com. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  2. ^ Celario, Nick (December 27, 2015). "Herbig de-commits from Stanford". The Garden Island. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  3. ^ Levy, Sean (January 28, 2016). "Stanford Football Recruiting: Nate Herbig Recommits to Stanford". RuleOfTree.com. SB Nation. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  4. ^ "Saint Louis grad Nate Herbig has no doubt that he's ready for the NFL". khon2.com. April 23, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  5. ^ Loop, John (December 16, 2016). "Nate Herbig named to ESPN's True Freshman All-America team". RuleOfTree.com. SB Nation. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  6. ^ "Stanford's Little, Adebo named first-team All-Pac-12 football". Palo Alto Weekly. December 4, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Celario, Nick (January 11, 2019). "Stanford guard, Kalaheo native Nate Herbig declares for NFL Draft". thegardenisland.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  8. ^ "Nate Herbig Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  9. ^ "2019 Draft Scout Nate Herbig, Stanford NFL Draft Scout College Football Profile". draftscout.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  10. ^ "Nate Herbig 2019 NFL Draft Profile". insider.espn.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
  11. ^ Bowen, Les (May 14, 2019). "This isn't the start Eagles rookie guard Nate Herbig envisioned, but he can determine what happens from here". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  12. ^ Fierro, Nick (September 2, 2019). "How undrafted rookie Nate Herbig earned his spot on the Eagles". The Morning Call. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  13. ^ Abeytia, R.J. (April 28, 2019). "Herbig Signed By The Eagles". 247Sports.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  14. ^ McPherson, Chris (May 9, 2019). "Eagles sign entire 2019 draft class and 10 undrafted free agents". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  15. ^ Gowton, Brandon Lee (December 16, 2019). "Eagles vs. Washington snap counts: The Greg Ward Game". BleedingGreenNation.com. SB Nation. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  16. ^ Gallen, Daniel (January 26, 2020). "Philadelphia Eagles roster review: Jason Peters' future, youth in development and more on the offensive line". The Patriot-News. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  17. ^ "Eagles at Washington: 5 observations from a stunning loss". 973espn.com. September 13, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Nate Herbig 2020 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  19. ^ Oddo, Jillian (January 3, 2022). "Eagles place 12 players on Reserve/COVID-19 list". PhiladelphiaEagles.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Nate Herbig 2021 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  21. ^ Bowman, Paul (January 10, 2022). "Eagles Clear COVID List, Place Three on IR". SportsTalkPhilly.com. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  22. ^ Gowton, Brandon Lee (May 2, 2022). "Eagles release Nate Herbig". Bleeding Green Nation. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  23. ^ Greenberg, Ethan (May 6, 2022). "Jets Claim OL Nate Herbig, Release OL Greg Van Roten". NewYorkJets.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  24. ^ "Nate Herbig 2022 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  25. ^ Alper, Josh (January 7, 2023). "Jets put Duane Brown and Lamarcus Joyner on IR; don't call up Chris Streveler". NBC Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  26. ^ Varley, Teresa (March 16, 2023). "Herbig signed to two-year contract". Steelers.com. Retrieved July 23, 2023.
  27. ^ Pryor, Brooke (August 18, 2024). "Source: Steelers OL Nate Herbig has torn rotator cuff". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 19, 2024.
  28. ^ Varley, Teresa (August 20, 2024). "Steelers make multiple roster moves". Steelers.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  29. ^ Abeytia, R.J. (April 28, 2019). "Herbig Signed By The Eagles". 247Sports.com. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
  30. ^ Temple, Jesse (June 14, 2019). "Inside four-star OLB Nick Herbig's mainland voyage that ended with a commitment to Wisconsin". The Athletic. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
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