With the Cameron Heyward contract extension now filed by the Pittsburgh Steelers and the franchise icon, keeping the team captain and face of the franchise in the Steel City for three more years, leaving him as a one-helmet guy for his career, the attention shifts elsewhere for the Steelers and another potential long-term extension.
That would be fourth-year tight end Pat Freiermuth, who could be next in line for a contract extension from the Steelers and GM Omar Khan.
For the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo, Freiermuth’s situation is the “most important contract” for the Steelers, and one that he believes will get done before the Steelers kick off Sunday in Atlanta.
“Yeah, I mean, any time now. I do think it’s gonna happen,” Fittipaldo said of a potential Freiermuth extension during an appearance on the 93.7 The Fan Morning Show Wednesday, according to audio via 93.7 The Fan. “I think Pat, obviously, is the more important contract here. Probably gonna be their number two receiver this year. He’s young, he’s a good player. So, I think that’ll get done.
“But, you know, timetable probably later this week, I’d say.”
The general belief is that the Freiermuth extension will get done before the start of the season. That’s been the case throughout the offseason, especially with Freiermuth appearing to be such a strong fit in new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s offense, which is tight end friendly.
Though Freiermuth has had some injuries, including a long history with concussions, as well as last season with a hamstring injury that caused him to miss five games, he’s one of the Steelers’ better young players on the offensive side of the football and profiles as one of the better young tight ends in football.
Throughout much of the offseason, Freiermuth stated time and time again that he was “optimistic” that he’d get a new deal from the Steelers and was leaving everything up to his agent. At one point during training camp, it felt like a deal was close, especially with Freiermuth’s agent showing up in Latrobe.
But nothing got done then. Now though, with Heyward’s deal out of the way and the season fast approaching, deadlines can spur action. Based on Fittipaldo’s viewpoint and feel, something gets done with Freiermuth this week, keeping him a Steeler long-term.
