Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth exited the team’s Week 18 game in the fourth quarter with a knee injury and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game, per Burt Lauten. Freiermuth was down and clutching his knee and was helped off the field alongside the training staff.
It’s never a good sign when a player is ruled out as quickly as Freiermuth was, and the injury certainly looked to be serious. He immediately grabbed for his knee upon going down and limped off the field with assistance. Freiermuth’s regular season ends with him grabbing 63 receptions for 732 yards and two touchdowns, an improvement off his 60 receptions for 497 yards as a rookie, although he had seven total touchdowns in his rookie season.
Obviously, Freiermuth’s health will be a major storyline for the Steelers even if they do not make the playoffs. If he suffered a serious knee injury, his availability for the start of next season could be impacted, meaning the Steelers could potentially go outside the organization to add a tight end for next year. The hope is that the injury isn’t as serious as it appeared to be, but given the quick rule our, it’s hard to be too hopeful about his status.
Zach Gentry and Connor Heyward are the remaining active tight ends on Pittsburgh’s roster.
