Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington receives plenty of attention not just for his play but his size. Looking more like an offensive tackle than tight end, Washington drew headlines when he finally revealed what had been a state-secret scale, telling the St. Brown brothers earlier this season he weighed 311 pounds.
In a more recent sit down with Jordan Schultz and Draymond Green, Washington shared his current weight. And the heaviest he’s ever been. Washington told the show he’s presently sitting at 308 pounds, a similar number to the one he shared in November. It’s not his “ideal” weight but it’s also far from his heaviest.
“I do feel a lot better lighter,” Washington told Schultz and Green’s podcast. “But not too light. I feel like my ideal weight for me is 285, 280. Because I’m blocking dudes 280, 290, could be 300. For sure, not 330. I’ve been there before. Offseason, I’ve been up to 330. It just feel different. Something I don’t want to play at. It’s gonna be ugly if I play at 330.”
Washington and Green had a candid conversation about keeping their weight in check. Green discussed his struggles to stay in shape. While Washington has seemingly been in a good place for most of his NFL career, it’s natural to let that number tick up in the offseason. Playing in an NFL game or going through a practice can cause a player to lose upwards of 13 pounds. Without that and a strict schedule, a couple of fast-food runs can pack on the pounds.
For comparison, Washington checked in at 264 pounds at the 2023 NFL Combine. While a drastic difference, most players slim down for the event in order to put up the best athletic numbers. Extra weight just slows times down. Washington’s true weight is far heavier, and Pittsburgh’s embraced it by making him a key component of its blocking schemes.
It also makes Washington a headache to bring down with most players resorting to going low to take out his legs. Unfortunately, that contributed to his broken arm that has him out for the season – unless Pittsburgh makes a Super Bowl appearance.
For Washington to reach his “ideal” weight, he’ll need to lose roughly 20 pounds. While that might not come easy, teammates praised him for shedding pounds during the 2025 offseason and showing up in, cliche as it might be, great shape. It seems the 330-pound offseason he referenced didn’t come this past year. With a contract extension possible, likely even, this summer, he’ll have plenty of motivation to stay in shape for OTAs and minicamp. If an extension occurs, it’ll most likely happen in the summer.