Steelers starting center Nate Herbig suffers significant shoulder injury, to miss extended time, per report

The Pittsburgh Steelers had some tough news to stomach on Saturday regarding one of their players. Nate Herbig, their starting center since the beginning of training camp, suffered a significant shoulder injury that will keep him out an extended period of time, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.

That means that rookie center Zach Frazier will become the starting center for the Steelers and will begin the 2024 regular season there. Frazier was a second-round draft pick for the franchise. They picked him with the No. 51 overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Pittsburgh lost to the Bills, 9-3 in their preseason game. Quarterback Justin Fields showed some electrifying moments under center, and it’ll be interesting to see how the battle for the starting job unfolds in the next few weeks. Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson completed 8 of 10 passes for 47 yards, but he was sacked three times in just five possessions. Head coach Mike Tomlin was disappointed in the performance with his offensive line in the postgame press conference.

Here’s some more information below on Frazier.

More info on the new center for Pittsburgh

A two-time All-American (2021 and ’23), Frazier was a stalwart on the Mountaineers offensive line. Frazier was also named a captain three times in his career.

He was All-Big 12 three times, including First-Team in 2023. He earned it by only giving up four sacks throughout his entire career at West Virginia.

Frazier also collected over 170 knockdowns in the last three years while startign 37 straight games at center.

As a member of the Class of 2020, Frazier was a three-star recruit out of Fairmont (W.V.) High, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 2 overall prospect in the state, the No. 59 defensive lineman (before switching to offense) in the class and the No. 575 overall prospect in the class.

What draft analysts said about Steelers center Zach Frazier

NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein evaluated the tape and gave his take on Frazier’s pro prospects. He was a projected third round pick and his NFL comp was AQ Shipley.

“Sawed-off frame with short arms and terrific power once he gets locked in,” Zierlein wrote. “Frazier’s lack of ideal arm length will be a problem for some evaluators and could cause him problems on the next level. Frazier has bulldozer drive strength in his lower half but allows his hands to do too much grabbing and hugging at times. 

“He has quick eyes and a firm punch in pass protection, but because of his lack of length and recovery ability, he’s going to have issues if he’s forced to protect on an island. Frazier has the potential to be a good backup or eventual starter, but he needs to play with consistent inside hands and must stay tight to his targets in order to mitigate his physical deficiencies.”

On3’s Nick Kosko also contributed to this article.