While many believe a long-term deal with TE Pat Freiermuth is inevitable, there are still some who are not confident that he’ll have a new deal before touching down in Atlanta Saturday evening. Appearing on 93.7 The Fan earlier today, ESPN’s Brooke Pryor downplayed the odds of a Freiermuth extension.
“I’m less optimistic that one gets done,” she told the show. “I’ve talked to some people who say it’s not looking like it.”
Pryor doesn’t offer a clue as to who she spoke to and if they were inside the Steelers’ organization. It contradicts what Dave Bryan and I have discussed on the site and on The Terrible Podcast. Freiermuth is the most likely candidate to be extended now that DL Cam Heyward’s deal is complete and would help boost the Steelers’ cash spending in 2024. Currently, they’re spending less cash than any other team in the NFL and sit below the 90 percent mark they must average over this season and the next two years.
Other beat reporters believe the deal will happen before Week 1, the team’s self-imposed deadline. But the clock is ticking.
A long-term deal with Pat Freiermuth could put him just outside the top-five tight ends in football. While he’s shown steady hands and some downfield ability, Pryor believes his injury history could make the team cautious.
“He also dealt with some soft tissue injuries. His numbers aren’t what they could be to justify a longer extension and a bigger payday. And so I can absolutely see a scenario where the Steelers say, ‘You know what? We do really like you. We kind of wanna see how this year goes in this new offense.'”
Freiermuth has suffered multiple concussions in his career and was plagued by injuries last year: a chest injury in the opener and a hamstring injury a few weeks later that required an injured reserve stint. He’s coming off his worst season, catching only 32 passes for 308 yards and two scores. Chunks of those numbers came in one game, the week after OC Matt Canada was fired. It’s not exactly a position of strength for Freiermuth to leverage from. But if the Steelers offer a fair deal, he’d be wise to take it.
