Steelers Extend Young Gun Looking For Breakout Season
On Friday afternoon before the season opener in Atlanta on Sunday, the Steelers were able to lock down Pat Freiermuth to a four-year extension worth $49.8 million. Freiermuth will get $23 million guaranteed. The Steelers officially made him the ninth highest-paid tight end in the NFL. The pass catcher will turn 26 years old in October and is now locked into Pittsburgh until he’s 30.
Riding On The Rollercoaster
Playing in the Steelers offense the past handful of seasons has benefitted very few players, if any. Freiermuth, like so many others, has been criminally underutilized in his first three seasons. He’s looking to have a breakout season with all the new elements around him. He finally doesn’t have a bumbling buffoon as his offensive coordinator and he could have some stability at the quarterback position.
Freiermuth burst on the scene in 2021 when he scored seven touchdowns. His second season was the best of his career when he posted 732 yards and two touchdowns on 63 receptions. Last season was an odd one for him. He played just 12 games and caught 32 passes for 308 yards and only two touchdowns. Not the year he had in mind, but injuries got in his way along with a garbage offense and lackluster quarterback play.
Steelers Expecting A Breakout?
Once the Steelers struck out on Brandon Aiyuk, they turned all their payroll attention to extending players like Cam Heyward and Freiermuth. Najee Harris could still use one, but getting two done is gigantic for Pittsburgh. They are counting on Freiermuth to take a big step this year, or else they wouldn’t have committed to him for the long haul.
Arthur Smith doesn’t have the best track record with tight ends, but it will be hard for Freiermuth to take a step back from how he fit into the offense in previous years. The Steelers believe he has the potential to be one of the best tight ends in football now that his contract reflects it. Freiermuth’s best game last season just so happened to be the Steelers’ first week without Matt Canada. He caught nine passes for 120 yards against the Bengals.
If Justin Fields ends up being the Steelers starting quarterback at any point this season, that could be the best situation for Freiermuth to thrive. Over the past two seasons with Fields, Cole Kmet has been able to rack up 1,263 yards and 13 touchdowns on 123 receptions. Freiermuth only has 11 touchdowns in his three-year career.
Fan Favorite
Coming from Penn State, Freiermuth has been a fan favorite since the day he arrived in Pittsburgh. He’s no stranger to appearing on a podcast such as the Christian Kuntz Podcast or Around The 412 to name a couple. He comes off as a great guy who fits what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler. Once he can clean up his production in the blocking game, he will get a lot more respect in Steel City.
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