The Pittsburgh Steelers may not have a defined No. 2 wide receiver, but they could still have their second receiving option after George Pickens on the roster in tight end Pat Freiermuth. The fourth-year veteran had a down year in 2023, but he’s shown that he can be effective with good quarterback play. Freiermuth revealed Thursday how Ben Roethlisberger helped him become comfortable with any quarterback.
“I think Ben taught me how to be a quarterback’s best friend, just understanding what the quarterback’s thinking on each play,” Freiermuth said while appearing on Christian Kuntz’s podcast. “It’s rare to find a tight end that’s going to stretch the field horizontally or vertically, so understanding his reads, his progressions, where he’s expecting you. I think he taught me that early on in my career, so I’ve kind of established that with each quarterback.”
Freiermuth has talked before about what a great mentor Roethlisberger was to him, and it sounds like that advice has been crucial to his career. Since Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season, Freiermuth has had several different quarterbacks throwing him the ball. Getting used to a different signal caller can be jarring for some players, but it sounds like Freiermuth was prepared.
Roethlisberger probably saw some Heath Miller to Freiermuth’s game and therefore tried to give the young tight end some tips on what he learned from Miller. Miller was Roethlisberger’s safety net, always managing to work back across the field when the quarterback decided to play backyard football.
It sounds like that’s a skill Freiermuth has been trying to refine. It would certainly help this season with both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields having the ability to scramble outside the pocket. If Freiermuth can develop a connection with either quarterback like Miller had with Roethlisberger, the Steelers should have fewer worries in the passing game.
Freiermuth had more touchdowns in his lone season with Roethlisberger than he’s had in the rest of his career, so hopefully Wilson or Fields can give him a similar kind of success. With the receiver room outside of Pickens being a group of unknowns, this could be the year for Freiermuth to step up and assume a bigger role.
