Steelers place veteran center Nate Herbig on IR, clearing the way for rookie Zach Frazier to start

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Zach Frazier arrived at his first NFL training camp intent on leaving it as the starting center.

The Pittsburgh Steelers rookie will do just that, even if it didn’t happen quite the way he wanted.

Frazier, a second-round pick out of West Virginia, replaced veteran Nate Herbig atop the depth chart on Tuesday after the Steelers put Herbig on injured reserve with a shoulder injury.

Herbig injured his shoulder during the final day of training camp at Saint Vincent College last week and didn’t play during a 9-3 loss to Buffalo on Saturday. Frazier got the nod in Herbig’s place and was one of the bright spots during an otherwise shaky performance by the offensive line.

While the reality is Frazier was always a part of the long-term solution at a position that’s been a revolving door of sorts since Maurkice Pouncey retired after the 2020 season, Frazier would have preferred to become a starter based on the quality of his play alone.

“I didn’t want to be a backup,” Frazier said. “I was going to shoot for earning that starting job. That’s just my mentality.”

The 22-year-old Frazier started 37 straight games for the Mountaineers, playing his home games just over an hour south of Pittsburgh. That proximity put him on the Steelers’ radar long before he evolved into one of the best centers in the draft.

Guard James Daniels praised Frazier’s curiosity, saying the rookie has no issue bouncing ideas off his older, more experienced teammates. Frazier credited his relatively smooth (so far) transition to the NFL to Herbig, who embraced serving as Frazier’s mentor knowing full well Frazier was eventually going to take the starting spot anyway.

“Honestly, in his position, he didn’t have to help me out at all,” Frazier said. “And, you know, I wouldn’t be as far as I am right now without him.”

Frazier has won raves from the coaching staff for the way he goes about his business. The Steelers need Frazier to hit the ground running. The starting offensive line has had trouble staying healthy and looking cohesive. Pittsburgh allowed four sacks to Buffalo last week, with tackle Broderick Jones — a first-round pick in 2023 — getting beat twice in the first quarter alone.

Jones, who is wearing protective gear on his right elbow, said he’s not 100% but called his issues “minor.” Rookie tackle Troy Fautanu, Pittsburgh’s first-round pick, is also dealing with a knee issue.

Enter Frazier, who doesn’t seem to be having much of an issue adjusting to the speed of the NFL.

“It’s still football,” he said. “You know, people are bigger, stronger, faster. But I feel like. I feel like I’m getting used to it.”

The physical adjustment may be the hard part for Frazier, who won four straight wrestling titles while in high school and had a 3.88-grade point average at WVU.

“I think (Frazier is) a very mature guy,” Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith said. “It’s a lot. You know, you ask your centers to do a lot. But I would say of any of our rookies he’s probably the most prepped. And we thought that when we drafted him and since he’s been in this building, he’s as advertised.”

NOTES: Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin is going to wait before deciding how much quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Justin Fields will play — if they play at all — in Saturday’s preseason finale in Detroit. ... RB Jaylen Warren will sit out the game with a hamstring injury. Tomlin declined to speculate on whether Warren will be available for the season opener. ... Pittsburgh made a couple of other roster moves on Tuesday, signing defensive lineman Marcus Haynes and linebacker Kyahva Tezino and terminating the contract of cornerback Anthony Averett.