The Pittsburgh Steelers have a decision to make on tight end Pat Freiermuth, who is entering the final year of his contract. A second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, Freiermuth is coming off an injury-plagued 2023 season where he had just 32 catches for 308 yards and two touchdowns. Of his 308 yards, 120 of those came in the Steelers’ Week 12 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
It surely wasn’t the season Freiermuth wanted heading into a contract year, and with Pittsburgh not negotiating contracts in-season, if Freiermuth wants to hammer out an extension, it’ll happen this offseason. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer Gerry Dulac thinks he will receive a long-term deal, answering “88,” Freiermuth’s number, when asked in his weekly chat today if he thinks Pittsburgh’s will get any extensions done this offseason.
The question becomes just how much Freiermuth wants and what the Steelers are willing to give. Before the season, Freiermuth was potentially looking at around $13-14 million per season given the extensions signed by other tight ends around the league and his production over his first two seasons. His missed time with injuries this season will prevent him from getting a PPE raise, but with the Steelers potentially extending him regardless, that won’t matter too much.
Freiermuth likely won’t hit the ceiling of $14 million per year he could’ve gotten after another productive season but given that he had over 60 catches during each of the first two seasons of his career and his injury history isn’t anything to seriously worry about (hamstring injuries are a part of the game), he could still be looking at $10-plus million per season. Freiermuth wants to stay in Pittsburgh, and there’s always the chance that he and the Steelers work something out that makes it a little team-friendlier after a disappointing season.
The Steelers have some depth at tight end, but Darnell Washington didn’t show that he can be relied upon as a receiving threat during his rookie season, and it doesn’t appear Connor Heyward is ready to make that jump yet, either. That would mean that if the Steelers and Freiermuth can’t come to terms on an extension, the team may be looking outside the organization for its next tight end.
While Freiermuth’s stock is probably at the lowest point of his career, he’s shown that he can be a really productive player. He had 123 catches for 1,229 yards and nine touchdowns over the first two years of his career, and if he does stay healthy, he’s a lot closer to the 60-plus receptions for 700 or so yards and a few touchdowns that we saw in 2022 than what Pittsburgh got out of him in 2023. Extending him is a move that makes sense, and we’ll see if Pittsburgh is able to get it done and what the numbers look like.
