Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth hasn’t been fully practicing during mandatory minicamp due to an undisclosed injury. He was asked after today’s session whether he would be ready for training camp, to which he answered “for sure,” in a video posted to Steelers.com.
Whatever Freiermuth’s injury or ailment is, it’s not major enough that it will hold him out for an extended period of time. With just three minicamp sessions and Freiermuth having been through the process before, there’s no real need for him to risk further damage by being out there.
Freiermuth has been among the better tight ends in the NFL during his first two seasons in the league, with 60+ receptions in each and a career-high 732 yards last season. With Darnell Washington being added to the tight end room, he can take on a lot of the blocking responsibility and allow Freiermuth to focus on his role as a receiver.
While he took a big jump in yards from his rookie season to his sophomore campaign, his touchdown total dropped from seven to two. That was largely due to the ineffectiveness of the Steelers’ red zone passing offense, as the team just had 12 total passing touchdowns all of 2022. I’d expect Freiermuth to improve from his two touchdowns and be more of a threat in the red zone this season as the offense expands.
He was recently named the ninth-best tight end in the NFL by Sports Illustrated, but he can certainly improve on that ranking with a strong year in 2023. His yards per reception jumped from 8.3 in 2022 to 11.6 in 2023, and if he continues to be a vertical and downfield threat, he’ll be productive in Pittsburgh’s offense in 2023.
With Diontae Johnson and George Pickens at wide receiver, coupled with the addition of Allen Robinson II to play the slot, there should be opportunities for Freiermuth to make some splash plays. It’ll be exciting to watch his growth and development. Hopefully, he can get healthy sooner rather than later.
