{"id":751188,"date":"2026-02-14T08:33:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T08:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/751188\/"},"modified":"2026-02-14T08:33:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T08:33:30","slug":"bill-barnwell-would-make-sense-for-steelers-to-trade-nick-herbig-for-eagles-backup-qb-tanner-mckee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/751188\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill Barnwell: ‘Would Make Sense’ For Steelers To Trade Nick Herbig For Eagles Backup QB Tanner McKee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nick Herbig has been one of the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 more underrated players in recent years. Originally a 2023 fourth-round pick, Herbig has developed into a great pass rusher. While he\u2019s been limited to only 11 starts in his three seasons, he still has 16 sacks, including 7.5 last year. Now, Herbig is entering the final year of his contract,<\/a> and he\u2019ll likely be looking for more money and playing time. The Steelers might not be able to do that, so ESPN\u2019s Bill Barnwell suggested that they trade him for Philadelphia Eagles backup quarterback Tanner McKee.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you need a Tanner McKee and you knew someone who obsesses over edge rushing talent, would you not call the Eagles and say, \u2018Nick Herbig, Tanner McKee, two guys on rookie deals.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018You get a cost control player for another year who had phenomenal pass rushing numbers and we get our quarterback of the future,’\u201d Barnwell said recently on the NFL Daily podcast.<\/a> \u201cDoes that not seem like a scratch my back, I scratch yours situation?\u201d<\/p>\n

That wouldn\u2019t be a good deal for the Steelers, unless the Eagles send them significant draft compensation as well. McKee on his own isn\u2019t worth Herbig.<\/p>\n

McKee was a 2023 sixth-round pick by the Eagles. He hasn\u2019t proven much in his career, either. He\u2019s appeared in six games with only two starts. While his starts are good, throwing for 597 yards, five touchdowns, and only one interception, it\u2019s far too limited of a sample size to say that he could be the Steelers\u2019 quarterback of the future.<\/p>\n

Also, the Eagles\u2019 offense has a lot of pieces that likely helped McKee. Saquon Barkley, A.J.\u00a0 Brown, and DeVonta Smith make up a great group of skill players. The Eagles\u2019 offensive line has been one of the NFL\u2019s best over the last few years, too. McKee might struggle more with lesser pieces around him.<\/p>\n

Barnwell seems to understand the discrepancy in value between McKee and Herbig, though. However, he believes that positional value makes it a worthy deal for the Steelers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about the savings as much as it is getting pieces that you need that you don\u2019t have access to. That\u2019s why I feel like McKee would make sense as a potential Herbig trade alternative\u2026 He\u2019s a quarterback and you need those.\u201d<\/p>\n

That still isn\u2019t a good enough reason to trade Herbig for only McKee. Yes, the Steelers need a quarterback,<\/a> but what makes McKee the answer? The Steelers would be just as well off if they start Will Howard. McKee hasn\u2019t done anything in his career to prove that he can be a franchise quarterback.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Herbig is a promising young edge rusher. If the Steelers trade him, they could do better than a former sixth-round pick that\u2019s only been a backup. Barnwell\u2019s suggestion makes little sense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nick Herbig has been one of the Pittsburgh Steelers\u2019 more underrated players in recent years. Originally a 2023…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":751189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[21637,7,6,23060,6313,109,57,1840,691],"class_list":{"0":"post-751188","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-bill-barnwell","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-nfl-daily","12":"tag-nick-herbig","13":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","14":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","15":"tag-tanner-mckee","16":"tag-trending"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116068064352292923","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=751188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=751188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=751188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=751188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}