The Steelers have agreed to terms with tight end Darnell Washington on a four-year extension.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports that the deal is worth $42 million with $21 million guaranteed.
The Steelers drafted Washington in the third round in 2023, and he has improved every year.
As a rookie, Washington was used mostly as a blocker and had only seven catches for 61 yards. He caught 19 passes for 200 yards and a touchdown in 2024 before 31 receptions for 364 yards and a touchdown in 2025.
He has played more than 500 snaps on offense in each of his first three seasons despite the Steelers having Pat Freiermuth at the position.
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Steelers edge rusher T.J. Watt has played mostly on the left side in his career. In fact, he took only 10 snaps on the right side last season, leaving that side to Alex Highsmith.
Watt, though, indicated that he will move around in Patrick Graham’s defense.
”I think in the past, it was a little bit more about me being stubborn,” Watt said, via video from the Post-Gazette Sports. “I think this new system allows [more of that, because] a lot of it is built in, so I really can’t say no. I have to move with it. A lot of us are interchangeable parts. You’re not just learning your position, you kind of have to learn the whole defensive front structure because we all are basically interchangeable. We can do different things, so I think you’re going to see a lot more movement of not just me, but the whole front.”
Watt led the NFL in sacks with 19 in 2023. He has only 18.5 over the past two seasons, including seven in 2025 when he missed three games.
Graham could be just what Watt needs at this point in his career, and the four-time All-Pro is working overtime to learn his coach’s scheme.
“It’s been a lot, not going to lie to you,” Watt said. “It’s been a lot of studying, lot of learning, lot on the iPad. Also, trying to see the new faces, not only players but coaches, but it’s been a lot of really good work. As you guys can see, practices are a little bit different around here, tougher as you get older to get the work in, but it’s all been phenomenal.”
Russell Wilson has made it official.
In a social-media video posted on Wednesday, Wilson announced his retirement from the NFL and confirmed that he will be working for CBS, on The NFL Today.
A third-round pick in 2012, Wilson won the starting job as a rookie, beating out free-agent arrival Matt Flynn.
Wilson made it to the Pro Bowl nine times in 10 seasons with the Seahawks. Traded to the Broncos in 2022, he had two seasons in Denver, one in Pittsburgh, and one with the Giants.
The Jets had interest in adding Wilson as a backup to Geno Smith, who once backed up Wilson in Seattle. Ultimately, Wilson chose TV over continuing to play.
In the years to come, Wilson’s Hall of Fame candidacy will be debated. Former Patriots defensive back Devin McCourty said on Tuesday’s PFT Live that Wilson was in the second tier of NFL quarterbacks during McCourty’s career, which largely overlapped with Wilson’s.
Still, Wilson had a strong run in the NFL. He defied his size, won a Super Bowl, and was the highest-paid player in the NFL, twice.
The Browns added a little extra protection for themselves to complete the Myles Garrett trade to the Rams this week.
While Cleveland received edge rusher Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2029 third-round pick from Los Angeles in exchange for Garrett, the league’s daily transaction wire noted that the final pick was conditional.
According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the condition on that 2029 third-round pick is that it will become a first-round pick in the event that the Rams trade Garrett to a team in the AFC North.
It doesn’t seem likely that the Rams would even want to trade Garrett at any point in the future.
But just in case they do, the Browns have at least made it unlikely that they’ll ever see Garrett twice a year on the opposing sideline.
The Steelers signed edge rusher Nick Herbig to a four-year contract extension on Tuesday and he hasn’t been the only player angling for a new deal with the team this offseason.
Herbig’s fellow 2023 draft pick Joey Porter Jr. is also entering the final year of his rookie deal and the cornerback’s participation level at OTAs reflects the position that he’s in. Porter has been in attendance, but Tuesday saw him take part in some walkthrough work early before standing to the side during more active periods of the workout.
Porter said he has been at the voluntary work because he wants “to show the new coaching staff that I’m here for the new process” and added that “everybody knows I want to be out there” for all of the work in reference to his limited activity. Porter didn’t delve into what he’s looking for in his next deal, but made it clear that he thinks he’s proven himself to be worthy of a major investment.
“I was an elite guy since I’ve been in this league,” Porter said, via Mike DeFabo of TheAthletic.com. “I’m happy that I’m getting the respect that I feel like I’m owed.”
Porter was referring to how he’s perceived around the league and finding common ground with the team’s perception will be essential to making an agreement on a new deal in Pittsburgh.
Nick Herbig is in the final year of his rookie deal, but the edge rusher won’t be hitting free agency in 2027.
According to multiple reports, Herbig has agreed to a four-year contract extension with the Steelers. It’s a $100 million deal with $42 million in guaranteed money.
Herbig was a 2023 fourth-round pick and he is coming off a career-high 7.5 sacks during the 2025 season. Herbig also had 13 tackles for loss and 18 quarterback hits in 15 overall appearances.
Herbig has 79 tackles, 16 sacks, an interception, nine forced fumbles, and four fumble recoveries for his career.
The Steelers also have T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith on the depth chart at edge rusher. Both players are signed through at least the 2027 season, so the Steelers will either remain deep at that spot or make a move in a different direction at some point in the future.
The start of the new league year saw a flurry of reports about free agents agreeing to contracts with teams and most of those were followed up by news of an official contract signing within the next few days.
One exception was veteran safety Darnell Savage. Reports indicated that Savage agreed to terms with the Steelers as the new league year was getting underway, but there was never an announcement of a deal from the steelers.
That appears to be a change to that status. Savage’s agent Seth Katz told Aaron Wilson of KPRC that his client has now signed with the AFC North club.
Savage played two games for Jacksonville, eight games for Washington and two games for the Bills during the 2025 season. He also started 13 games for the Jaguars in 2024 and spent five seasons with the Packers to kick off his career.
Russell Wilson is staying in New York. But he won’t be playing for the Jets.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN, Wilson is “finalizing a deal” to become an analyst with CBS.
Wilson will be joining The NFL Today, which currently features James Brown, Nate Burleson, and Bill Cowher. A seat opened when Matt Ryan left to become the Falcons’ president of football.
The Jets were considering Wilson as a veteran backup to Geno Smith, who once was Wilson’s backup in Seattle. Wilson has said he had an offer from the Jets.
It’s rare for any quarterback who was once the highest-paid player in the league to happily accept the second spot on a depth chart. (Joe Flacco is the one of the most significant exceptions.) Wilson was the Giants’ starter when he signed there in 2025, and he was the Steelers’ starter when he signed there in 2024. His days as a starter are and were over.
As to the biggest TV opportunities, those seats don’t always pop open. With Ryan exiting, there was a current opportunity for Wilson. If he didn’t take it now, it may not have been there in a year.
Wilson, a third-round pick out of Wisconsin, started for the Seahawks from 2012 through 2021. He was traded to the Broncos in 2022.
A Super Bowl winner and a 10-time Pro Bowler, Wilson was never a first-team All-Pro or a serious MVP candidate. At 16th on the all-time passing yardage list and 12th on the all-time passing touchdown list, he’ll have a somewhat challenging case to get to Canton.
That’s where a great career in TV can make a difference. Yes, the debate will be about his playing career. And, yes, his case will get stronger if he becomes a successful and enduring presence in NFL broadcast universe.
Steelers rookie guard Gennings Dunker hasn’t put the pads on for an NFL practice yet, but he’s already noticing differences between college and pro football players.
Dunker said that just from his brief experiences at the Steelers’ non-contact Organized Team Activities, he’s already recognizing that NFL speed is different. Dunker says he’ll have to adjust to blitzing NFL linebackers who are more athletic than the ones he saw during his college career as a three-year starter at Iowa.
“These guys are a lot faster than college linebackers,” Dunker said. “They’re pretty quick, so maybe taking a little bit different angles because they’re definitely a lot better athletes than me.”
The Steelers made offensive line a priority in the 2026 NFL draft, selecting tackle Max Iheanachor in the first round before adding Dunker in the third. They’ll be counting on their young offensive lineman making a quick adjustment to NFL speed.
Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen says he and the team have talked about a new contract, but so far, it’s all talk.
Queen told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he’s seen speculation that he could be traded or released but doesn’t think much of it.
“I saw the whole charade that went on all this offseason, but I mean it’s talks. Obviously, no movement either way,” he said. “So, at the end of the day, [the Steelers] have business to handle. I’ve got business handled at home, and my business is to go out there and play the best football I can and put myself in a good position and put our team in a good position so that we both get successful.”
Queen is heading into the final year of his contract and has a salary cap hit of $17.2 million this season. If he were to be traded after June 1, the Steelers would save $13.3 million in cap space. But Queen said he doesn’t put a lot of stalk in rumors that he could be traded.
“Some of it was true, but some of it was extended truth, just people rambling and stuff,” Queen said. “That’s what you can have with social media nowadays. You know, everybody wants the first say whatever happens — and wants to hope to be right. [There were] very [few] facts out there.”
Ultimately, Queen said, he’s good with either playing out his current contract or getting a new deal.
“I’ve got a good amount of money coming in this year,” Queen said. “So at the end of the day, I couldn’t care less. If they do want to extend, cool. If not, cool. At the end of the day, it’s as a business.”
