2024 Steelers Exit Interviews: Nick Herbig and Jeremiah Moon
The Pittsburgh Steelers 2024 NFL season has come to a close. Because the Steelers are among the 31 teams who did not finish fulfilling their ultimate goal, they are in the process of wrapping up their season and moving forward into 2025.
Since the Steelers conduct exit interviews with all their players, and the fact I have done these articles in the past, we thought we would do them yet again here at Steel Curtain Network. By outlining two players each day, we will be able to look at their season in retrospect as well as looking toward the future. Since Coach Tomlin has previously stated he starts his interviews with rookies and those heading into free agency, we will attempt to do the same to some degree. To start, we will pair the most recent draftees with another player at the same position (if possible) as we work through this process to eventually cover the entire Steelers roster.
Next up are outside linebackers Nick Herbig and Jeremiah Moon.
Nick Herbig
Position: Outside Linebacker
Years with the Steelers: 2
Years in the NFL: 2
Contract Status: Signed through 2026
Contract Details: $1,198,231 salary cap hit for 2025. Would cost the Steelers $336,462 in dead money if released and save $861,769.
Games played in 2023: 13 regular season
Games started in 2023: 5 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 415 (defense), 174 (special teams)
PFF score: 80.7 (17th of 119)
Notable stats: Herbig had 22 tackles, 5 of which were for loss, 5.5 sacks, 11 quarterback hits, 4 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries.
Notes: Herbig had some big moments as a pass rusher in his second season with the Steelers. While he did miss time due to injury, the younger herbig brother emerged as a great option for the Steelers to use a three man rotation at outside linebacker, as well as having three outside linebackers on the field together. While Herbig does come up short in the running game compared to Alex Highsmith, it’s a part of his game he can continue to build. For me, I would like to see consistency at his top level throughout the season as there were several games where Herbig wasn’t noticeable as part of the Steelers defense, but he was not alone in this for the Steelers defense.
Jeremiah Moon
Position: Outside Linebacker
Years with the Steelers: 1
Years in the NFL: 3 (including practice squad)
Contract Status: Exclusive Rights Free Agent
Contract Details: Contract expiring with no dead money. The Steelers can choose to bring Moon back for the league minimum.
Games played in 2023: 13 regular season
Games started in 2023: 1 regular season
Snaps (regular season): 111 (defense), 222 (special teams)
PFF score: 44.2 (DNQ for ranking)
Notable stats: Moon had 9 tackles.
Notes: If the Steelers are looking for their fourth outside linebacker to be more about special teams than getting defensive snaps, then Jeremiah Moon is a good, inexpensive option. If the Steelers had to rely on Moon to start for several games, then it becomes more of an issue. But if others are healthy at the position, Moon would continue to get a helmet on game days because of special teams. This is what he offered in 2024 and likely would offer the same in 2025.
Make sure you check back each day for another set of exit interviews. If you have missed any of the previous articles, they are listed here:
Troy Fautanu & Broderick Jones
Zach Frazier & Ryan McCollum
Roman Wilson & Van Jefferson
Payton Wilson & Patrick Queen
Mason McCormick & James Daniels
Logan Lee & Isaiahh Loudermilk
Ryan Watts & Damontae Kazee
Joey Porter Jr. & James Pierre
Keeanu Benton & Montravius Adams
Darnell Washington & Pat Freiermuth
