Despite a reduced target share, Pittsburgh Steelers brass maintains Pat Freiermuth remains a vital offensive weapon for the team's future plans.
It seems fair to question whether the Pittsburgh Steelers are reducing Pat Freiermuth’s role in their offense.
The big tight end and quarterback Aaron Rodgers never really meshed last season. Nevertheless, the 42-year-old Rodgers led the Steelers to their first AFC North championship since 2020, and Pittsburgh would like him back next season.
Freiermuth was targeted just 54 times in 17 games. He never had a pass thrown his way in two games, a win over the Minnesota Vikings and a loss to the Buffalo Bills. In home wins over the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals, Freiermuth was targeted only once.
The Steelers kept saying throughout the season that they still had plenty of faith in Freiermuth, and his lack of targets was more a function of the flow of the game than former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s play calls.
Freiermuth, 27, ended up with 41 receptions for 486 yards and four touchdowns. That came after Freiermuth had at least 60 catches in three of his first four seasons in the NFL. Pittsburgh drafted Freiermuth in the second round in 2021.
Steelers general manager Omar Khan downplays the idea that Freiermuth might get fazed out of the offense with new coach Mike McCarthy calling the plays in 2026 with his version of the West Coast offense.
"Obviously, he's a competitor, so he wants the ball; never going to question that," Khan said of Freiermuth. "I think he's going to have a big part in this offense. We're paying him for a reason, so excited to have him in the mix. I know the new coaching staff likes him, they're excited to work with him, he represents us well, and Pat's a Steeler."
Fellow tight end Darnell Washington took on more of a pass-catching role in his third season. He had a career-best 31 receptions for 364 yards and one touchdown.
In addition to Freiermuth and Washington, Pittsburgh has a third tight end in veteran Jonnu Smith, who was acquired along with defensive back Jalen Ramsey from the Miami Dolphins in a trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
Smith, though, had 38 catches for just 222 yards and two touchdowns a year removed from an 88-reception season. With a $10,872,500 salary cap number for next season, Smith would seemingly be a prime candidate to be cut.
Freiermuth’s cap number is $11.2 million, and Washington’s is $3,897,438. However, Khan says he is under no financial pressure to thin out the tight end room. The Steelers have $40 million in cap space.
“You can’t ever have enough good players at a specific position,” Khan said.
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