The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June. Next up is the team’s annual training camp, which gets underway in the latter part of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of Steelers training camp, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time as part of a multi-post series. This Steelers roster preview, which includes outlooks for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow. This series figures to exceed 90 players this year as the team can carry 91 players in total during the offseason due to the allowance of one international player designation.
The next set of three players we will preview ahead of the Steelers’ 2024 training camp are Minkah Fitzpatrick, Zach Frazier and Pat Freiermuth.
S Minkah Fitzpatrick: The 2023 season certainly didn’t go the way that Fitzpatrick wanted, as it included him missing seven regular season games due to injury. First, it was a hamstring injury that sidelined Fitzpatrick in the middle of the season. Then later in the year, it was a knee injury that prevented him from playing in three contests.
In total, Fitzpatrick played just 550 regular season snaps on defense in 2023, on his way to registering 64 total tackles, 1 for loss, and 3 passes defensed. He did not record any interceptions or forced fumbles in 2023, and the Steelers defense certainly missed that aspect of his playmaking. In the Steelers lone playoff game last season, Fitzpatrick recorded 10 total tackles.
Outlook: Obviously, Fitzpatrick will once again be one of the Steelers’ starting safeties in 2024. The hope is that Fitzpatrick doesn’t have the injury situation this coming season that he had in 2023 that forced him to miss several games. The Steelers’ defense is quite different when Fitzpatrick is on the field because he is a playmaker who needs to be identified by location on every pre-snap.
By the sound of things so far this offseason, Fitzpatrick will be allowed to play deep a lot more in 2024 as the coaching staff has already admitted this summer that he was asked to play down low way too much in 2023. Assuming that’s the case with Fitzpatrick in 2024, we should look for him to return to All-Pro form, and that should mean a return of numerous takeaways by him, just as was the case in 2022. That would be a great tradeoff for Fitzpatrick, possibly not needing to make as many tackles in 2024.
OC Zach Frazier: The Steelers selected Frazier in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft out of West Virginia. In college, Frazier, who has an extensive wrestling background, played over 3,200 offensive snaps throughout four seasons with most of those coming at the center position.
Last season, Frazier was given a pass-blocking grade of 83.8. Additionally, PFF has Frazier down as allowing just 5 sacks in his four seasons at West Virginia. At the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine, Frazier, who sustained a broken leg late during his 2023 season, measured in at 6025, 315 pounds with 32 1/4-inch arms and 10 7/8-inch hands.
Outlook: If things go the way most speculate they will this summer, Frazier will be the Steelers’ starting center to open the 2024 regular season. After all, this is the same team that allowed former center Kendrick Green to start immediately as a rookie, and Frazier is twice the player that Green was coming out of college.
Obviously, the quicker Frazier can acclimate to NFL play, the better. The Steelers really need their second-round selection this year to be a hit, and thus have Frazier become a quick mainstay in the middle of the offensive line for several years to come.
TE Pat Freiermuth: In 2023, Freiermuth played in just 12 regular season games as he missed five contests due to a hamstring injury. In total, Freiermuth played just 474 regular season snaps on offense while registering 32 receptions for 308 yards and 2 touchdowns on 47 total targets.
Freiermuth’s best game in 2023 came in Week 11 contests against the Cincinnati Bengals. In that game, he caught 9 passes for 120 yards on 11 total targets. In the Steelers’ lone playoff game last season, Freiermuth had 5 receptions for 76 yards on 8 total targets, which was a wonderful way for him to close out an overall disappointing year.
Outlook: Barring the Steelers going out and adding a significant wide receiver prior to the start of the 2024 regular season, Freiermuth appears to be in line to perhaps be the team’s second-leading pass catcher behind WR George Pickens. If that is indeed the case, Freiermuth could have his best season to date, and thus catch 70 or more passes in 2024 for well more than 750 yards. He could be a huge cog on third downs as well in 2024.
One area where Freiermuth could stand to improve is his run blocking, especially when he is attached to the end of the offensive line. If he can improve that phase of his overall game, he very well could exit the 2024 season as a top-five all-around NFL tight end. The Steelers are poised to run the football quite a bit in 2024 out of heavy personnel groupings. In short, expect Freiermuth to be on the field a ton in 2024. It will be interesting to see if Freiermuth signs a contract extension in the next nine weeks. That’s the expectation, at least.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Montravius Adams, Kyle Allen, Spencer Anderson
90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Grayland Arnold, Calvin Austin III, Anthony Averett
90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Kalon Barnes, Tyler Beach, Keeanu Benton
90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Beanie Bishop Jr., Chris Boswell, Marquez Callaway
90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Jack Colletto, Dylan Cook, Jacob Copeland
90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — James Daniels, Daijun Edwards, DeShon Elliott
90 In 30: Steelers 2024 Training Camp Preview Series — Justin Fields, Joey Fisher, Dez Fitzpatrick
