The tight end market is hot. Red hot. Absolutely sizzling. With another strong season similar to his first two, TE Pat Freiermuth probably would’ve gotten a piece of that pie. But it’s looking like his 2023 season will be defined by injuries and a second contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers will have to wait.
After suffering a hamstring injury in Week Four against the Houston Texans, Freiermuth missed the following week against the Baltimore Ravens but was confident he’d return after the Steelers’ Week Six bye. Everything seemed to be on track after fully practicing Wednesday. But he aggravated the injury during Thursday’s session, hurting himself again so severely that he was placed on injured reserve, knocking him out of at least the next four games. The earliest he can return is Week Eleven against the Cleveland Browns and who knows if that will even happen. It’s clear the team wants and needs to be cautious with him.
As Dave Bryan wrote about in late August, this season was shaping up to be one where Freiermuth could cash in. Top tight ends around the league were scoring big contracts left and right. Minnesota’s T.J. Hockenson netted a four-year extension worth up to nearly $70 million while Chicago’s Cole Kmet’s deal reached $50 million. That’s not to say Freiermuth would’ve received top-of-the-market money but Bryan laid out a realistic scenario of what a deal could look like.
“While the 2023 season has yet to get underway, I could see Freiermuth’s valuation next offseason being somewhere in the neighborhood of $13.25-$14 million. That valuation, however, is with the expectation that his 2023 season is in the neighborhood of his first two in the NFL, which certainly is plausible as we sit here today.”
Of course, Bryan’s caveat was him having a 2023 similar to his first two years in the league. Where he joined Keith Jackson as the only two tight ends in NFL history with at least 60 receptions in their first two years. If Freiermuth could’ve made it the first three, it would’ve been an NFL record.
This year, even when healthy, he was hardly involved in the offense. To date, he’s caught only eight passes and his poor blocking did nothing to help jumpstart a flailing Steelers’ running game.
The idea of a big-money contract extension this offseason is out the window. Heck, Freiermuth probably wouldn’t want to talk terms even if the Omar Khan came asking about it. His value is at its lowest point and he’s best off getting healthy and bouncing back in 2024. It’ll make for an interesting year next season. He’ll enter the final year of his rookie contract, a free agent to-be after 2024.
Assuming he returns to form, the Steelers will have to decide his market value and Freiermuth will have to decide if he wants to take a look at what the free agency could offer him. Pittsburgh could counter with the franchise tag as the ace up their sleeve. All of that is down the road, it’s all speculatory, but that’s where this thing could be headed.
It also begs the question. What moves will Pittsburgh make in the offseason? Their list of unrestricted free agents are unappealing, “headlined” by CB Levi Wallace who certainly isn’t in-line for a big payday. Others on the list include NT Montravius Adams, LB Kwon Alexander, CB James Pierre, and QB Mason Rudolph. Some of those players will return but none will command serious money. It’s why the Freiermuth extension seemingly set up nicely. That was the ideal place for the Steelers to send some resources (i.e. money). Now, that appears off the table.
Freiermuth can still be a big piece of Pittsburgh’s future. You won’t find many tight ends who have better hands than him. And his lack of blocking can be schemed away, especially paired with someone like TE Darnell Washington, assuming he refines his game throughout this year and next. But 2023 will be a year for Freiermuth to forget. All he can hope is to come back late in the season, put up a few good games, and give him something to feel happy about heading into a less lucrative offseason than expected.
