Pittsburgh Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth remains on injured reserve, but he could be back on the practice field today. The team officially opened his 21-day window this morning, giving him at least the chance to play in Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the news and said Freiermuth is tracking to play on Sunday.
Freiermuth hinted at the news Monday via his Instagram story, posting this photo.
Freiermuth initially injured his hamstring in the third quarter of the Steelers’ Week Four loss to the Houston Texans. After missing Week Five against the Baltimore Ravens and having a Week Six bye, Freiermuth attempted to return for the Steelers’ Week Seven game against the Los Angeles Rams. After practicing fully that Wednesday, he aggravated the hamstring injury on Thursday during practice. He failed to practice Friday and was ruled out. The following day, Pittsburgh placed him on injured reserve.
It’s been a tough year for Freiermuth. Even prior to getting hurt, he wasn’t involved in the offense. Over the three-and-a-half games he has played, Freiermuth has caught just eight passes for 53 yards, though two of them found the end zone. The tight end position has provided little production for Pittsburgh this year with rookie Darnell Washington totaling only three receptions while Connor Heyward has been limited to checkdown duty.
With a big year similar to his first two seasons, Freiermuth would’ve been in line for a contract extension this offseason, taking advantage of a hot tight end market. While a long-term deal can’t definitively be ruled out, the odds of it happening have been greatly reduced.
With his window officially opened, Freiermuth can be activated at any time over the next 21 days. We’ll see what his level of participation is in practice later today and the rest of this week. The team could opt to take its time with activating him, not wanting him to suffer a similar setback as before, but Schefter’s wording makes it seem as if he could be back out there.
Pittsburgh plays the Browns this Sunday, the first of consecutive road games. In Week 12, they’ll take on the Cincinnati Bengals for the first time this season. In Week 13, the Steelers are back at home to host the Arizona Cardinals.
