The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off their bye week and the extra rest has given the team time to get healthy. On Monday morning the team opened the 21-day practice window for WR Diontae Johnson (hamstring) and RB/KR Anthony McFarland Jr. (knee) to work back from the reserve/injured list. DL DeMarvin Leal also appears on track to return as he was just cleared from the concussion protocol.
It appears you can add TE Pat Freiermuth to this list as well as Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on Twitter that he will be good to go Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Freiermuth was injured in the third quarter of the team’s Week Four game against the Houston Texans. He was ruled out of the team’s Week Five loss to the Baltimore Ravens with Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward replacing him.
Per ESPN’s Brooke Pryor, Freiermuth says he would’ve played in Week Six had the Steelers not been on their bye.
Freiermuth has caught just eight passes this season though two of them have found the end zone. He is in the midst of a contract year as he will have one year remaining on his rookie deal following the 2023 season. This is an important season for the young tight end, and with all of the recent contracts signed by tight ends like T.J. Hockenson, Cole Kmet, and Tyler Higbee, Freiermuth will have some ammunition as he enters those negotiations.
So far, he is well behind his pace from his first two seasons in which he averaged 62 receptions for 614.5 yards and 4.5 touchdowns, though he has already matched his 2022 touchdown total with two this season. With the offense regaining Johnson and now Freiermuth, the time could be now for the Steelers’ offense to start turning things around. This will be their first full complement of offensive weapons since late in the second half against the San Francisco 49ers in Week One.
Washington and Heyward were targeted six total times in Week Five against the Ravens with just three receptions for 23 yards by Heyward. This team has not gotten a lot out of its tight end room this season, but Freiermuth will have plenty of motivation for that to change moving forward.
