Steelers general manager Omar Khan has been focusing on extending his successful 2023 draft class recently, giving us plenty of new contracts to grade. Recently, we talked about the risk and reward of outside linebacker Nick Herbig’s recent four-year, $100 million contract.
Now, let’s do the same for Darnell Washington’s four-year, $42 million deal.
How would you grade Darnell Washington’s Steelers’ extension?
You can read the full financial details here. Ultimately, Washington carries a small, $3.47 million cap hit in 2026. Then, from 2027-2030, it stays in the $10
million range.
With less than half the deal’s total worth guaranteed, Washington’s yearly dead cap hit sits at $8 million in 2027, dropping $2 million in each following season. It’s not financially crippling for the team in the least.
With the new deal, Washington is now the 13th highest-paid in the league at his position with a $10.5 million yearly average, still well below the 49ers’ George Kittle’s NFL-leading $19.5 million. Even Washington’s fellow Pittsburgh tight end Pat Freiermuth makes more, with the 10th-highest yearly average at $12.1 million, per Spotrac.
Washington hasn’t been the most productive receiver over his time in the pros, but he is coming off a career-best 31-catch, 364-yard season in 2025, including one touchdown. He was the team’s most-played tight end on offense, narrowly out-snapping both Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith.
Of course, where Washington’s true value lies is as a blocker, where he is the rare talent who can hold up against defensive ends one-on-one thanks to his sheer size and strength at 6’7 and a weight that likely sits at or near the 300-pound range.
A lumbering mover as a route runner who dropped four passes in 2025, Washington’s upside as a receiving weapon may be limited, even if he still is a freakish mover for his size. But even as a pure blocking tight end, his contract value is fair — the Vikings signed Josh Oliver, one of the best blocking tight ends in the league, to a $7.75 million per year contract in 2025, and the value of such players has just continued to rise. Look at the 2026 draft class!
Plus, the tight ends still making more than Washington include good-not-great names such as Evan Engram, Cole Kmet, and Isaiah Likely. Their roles in their respective offenses may not be the most comparable, but names such as Likely and Kmet have similarly not always been the primary tight end on their teams.
All that to say, the Steelers got a reasonable value for Washington.
My only concerns lie with potential for injury, and how Washington will be used in the Steelers’ new offense under Mike McCarthy.
Washington had knee concerns coming out of the draft in 2023, which was the likely reason why he fell to Pittsburgh in the third round. However, in the NFL he’s been incredibly durable, playing in all but one regular season game through his first three years in the league. Still, with his size, it remains a bit of a concern moving forward.
Then, there’s the question of if Washington’s skill set will still be used as well as it was in Arthur Smith’s 2025 Steelers offense. With Mike McCarthy likely to prioritize more 11 personnel (one tight end) moving forward, it will be interesting to see if Pittsburgh can maximize its investments in both Washington and Freiermuth, especially considering the latter is the more dynamic receiving target.
But if anything, the Steelers’ decision to lock up Washington long term signals the team is both confident in his health and sees him a key piece of the offense moving forward. And why wouldn’t they? He’s a force multiplier in the run game who’s still a threat to ruin a defensive back’s day while gaining yards after catch in the open field.
Like with Nick Herbig’s contract, we’ll reserve the “A” for true slam-dunk deals and bargains. This contract still comes with some question marks. But it’s another strong B+ for one of the most fun players on the current Steelers’ roster.
How would you grade the Steelers’ Darnell Washington extension? Join the BTSC community and let us know in the comments!
