Playing in the NFL is a dream come true for so many people. It represents the culmination of so much hard work and dedication. However, the journey doesn’t end on draft day. Many players quickly realize that life in the NFL can become taxing very quickly. Pat Freiermuth recently detailed an experience early in his career where he felt like he couldn’t do anything right.
“I remember my rookie year here in Pittsburgh, I went through a really tough stretch,” Freiermuth wrote in a recent piece on The Players’ Tribune. “I fumbled against the Lions in overtime. Then a few weeks later I had a chance to catch a late touchdown against the Vikings. Harrison Smith made a hell of a play to knock it loose. Still, I should’ve held on.
“I remember talking to my brother during that time, and I felt like I let the whole city down. I actually remember telling him, ‘I don’t know if I have it at this level.'”
It’s funny that Freiermuth felt so negative after those two errors because he was great during his rookie season. He had 60 catches for 497 yards and 7 touchdowns. He made numerous great plays that more than made up for those two mistakes, and yet, it’s the negatives that he focuses on.
It would be really difficult to blame either of those losses on Freiermuth. Both games came in 2021, and Freiermuth was the least of the team’s problems. Against the Detroit Lions in Week 10, the Steelers were without Ben Roethlisberger. Mason Rudolph was the quarterback, and he made his fair share of mistakes that day. Diontae Johnson also lost a fumble in that game.
The end result was a tie, which wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but still not the result anyone wanted. Things like that happen, though. Even this year, players have had errors that cost the Steelers. It’s very rare that one play loses a game. There are multiple factors that go into losing.
Freiermuth goes on to explain how several people helped pull him up when he was down.
“Two people really got me through that time. One was Coach [Tomlin]. When I fumbled against the Lions, I remember walking into the facility the next day, and Coach [Tomlin] was one of the first people I saw in the lobby. He came right up to me and said, ‘I’m coming back to you every single time in that situation.’ That gave me so much confidence. But when I dropped the pass against the Vikings, I was crushed. I was thinking, ‘Man, they’re going to cut me. This is not the standard.'”
Freiermuth was probably beating himself up because his fumble came at the end of overtime, when the Steelers were already in field goal range. However, that play didn’t cost them the win, just like he didn’t lose them the game against the Vikings. Again, his drop came on the last play of the game, but the Steelers defense allowed 36 points in that game, which is unacceptable.
That also goes to show just how incredible of a leader Tomlin is. He has his problems as a coach, but when it comes to getting the most out of players, there might not be anyone better. Freiermuth was a young player on a team that had Super Bowl aspirations, and he felt responsible for the team not getting two wins. That was a pivotal point in his career, and Tomlin helped him move forward.
As Freiermuth says, though, all that negativity came rushing back as soon as he dropped that ball against the Vikings. This time, it was Roethlisberger who helped him move past that.
“Like clockwork, the first person I see in the facility the next day is Ben Roethlisberger. He comes right up to me, exactly like Coach [Tomlin, and he says, ‘Hey, don’t hold your head. You know I’m going right back to you in that situation, right?’ That’s why those guys are both Hall of Famers. They could’ve frozen me out at that moment, but they pumped me back up.”
Roethlisberger has long been a huge believer in Freiermuth, so it’s not surprising to hear him have the tight end’s back. Freiermuth was actually part of the reason the Steelers had any chance at all at beating the Vikings. He had already caught a touchdown from Roethlisberger that day. It’s not like he had an awful game on top of the drop.
There was one more person that helped motivate Freiermuth to push forward, though, and it wasn’t a teammate or coach.
“There was a third person that got me through my rookie year. More than one person, really. It was all of you. Steeler Nation. I’m not gonna lie, you gave me some tough love. I needed it. But I’ll never forget showing up to my first day of training camp, and I don’t even think we had the pads on yet, we were just catching some balls, and I heard it for the first time……
“‘Mmmmuuuuuuthhhhhhh.'”
The NFL can be a cold world. One day, you’ve achieved your dream. The next, you get cut and you suddenly have to find something else to do with your life. Freiermuth was drafted in the second round, but that doesn’t guarantee job security. He made mistakes, and fans let him know about it, but it seems like he appreciated that, especially because of the love they gave him.
It seems silly when you take a step back and look at an entire fanbase chanting the end of a rookie tight end’s name, but it mattered more than anyone could have known. Freiermuth was a young player trying to live out his dream, and it felt like the whole world saw his every mistake. But on all 60 of his catches, the entire fanbase let him know he was beloved.
At the end of the day, football is just a game. It ends for everyone eventually. However, it represents so much more for some people. It can unite countless people, no matter their differences. Freiermuth was a kid from New England that grew up with a family that loved the Patriots. Normally, he’d be someone Steelers fans despise.
However, as soon as he became a member of the team, he was embraced wholeheartedly. He messed up during his rookie year, but no player is perfect. The important part was that he didn’t stay down when he felt down.
That’s life in the NFL. You get beaten down physically and mentally. Most players battle more than people know. It sounds like the Steelers have a good support system to help each other, though. There’s a reason they’re one of the most accomplished franchises in the league. Young players like Freiermuth aren’t punished for being human. They’re given opportunities to prove they can be better. The NFL is a business, but the Steelers are a family.
