The Pittsburgh Steelers have yet to make any real moves on the extension front this offseason. And we haven’t heard much about Pat Freiermuth or Cameron Heyward, two players it seemed likely Pittsburgh would extend at some point this summer. With Week 1 less than a month away, it’s still possible that Heyward and/or Freiermuth get extended before the start of the season. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote in his weekly chat today that there have been talks about extensions for both Heyward and Freiermuth.
“It’s possible. There are talks,” Dulac wrote in response to a reader question about Heyward and Freiermuth getting extended before the season.
Both Heyward and Freiermuth will be free agents next offseason if the team doesn’t work out a new deal before then. With Pittsburgh’s policy of not extending players in-season, the team has just a few weeks before the start of the season and then a window after the season ends to get deals done before one or both hit the market.
Heyward’s 2023 season was marred by a groin injury, and he finished the year with just two sacks in 11 games. He wants to be paid like one of the top defensive linemen in football, and Pittsburgh may be hesitant to give him that type of money coming off an injury-plagued season. Still, at 35, Heyward is an anchor for the team’s defensive line and the group’s top run defender, and it would be weird seeing the longest-tenured Steeler in another uniform. Whether it happens this offseason or next, I’d think the Steelers will get something done with Heyward, barring a disastrous 2024 season.
Freiermuth is coming off a season where he missed time due to a hamstring injury and just wasn’t used all that often in Pittsburgh’s offense. He finished 2023 with a career-low 32 receptions and 308 yards with two touchdowns, but with Pittsburgh’s lack of receiver options and Arthur Smith’s tight end usage, those numbers should improve. Even coming off the down season, extending Freiermuth should be a priority, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him have a breakout year in 2024.
We’ll see if Pittsburgh can wrap up any extensions in the coming weeks, especially now with some of the buzz over a potential trade for Brandon Aiyuk having quieted. Heyward and Freiermuth are important pieces to the team this season, and both are going to be key in determining just how good the Steelers can be this season. I’d expect both to be Steelers long-term.
