For the fifth straight year, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have a different starting quarterback to open the season when Aaron Rodgers — assuming health — trots onto the field with the first-team offense on Sept. 7 at MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Jets.
Rodgers will be the latest in line that includes Justin Fields, Kenny Pickett, Mitchell Trubisky and Ben Roethlisberger dating back to the 2021 season of quarterbacks that opened the season as the starter for the Steelers.
They’ll likely have a different starting quarterback to open the 2026 season, too, but hopefully that starter next year is the long-term answer for the Black and Gold. For now though, they’re turning to Rodgers to try and lead the offense.
For tight end Pat Freiermuth, he’s excited to get to work and play with Rodgers due to his resume and talent. But speaking with reporters during mandatory minicamp at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, Freiermuth admitted that it’s “tough” to play with a different starting quarterback every year, though he added that it’s fine and that he’s “excited for the opportunity.”
“Yeah, it’s tough. But obviously we’re looking for whoever can help us compete and win a Super Bowl,” Freiermuth said of the challenges of playing with a new QB every year, according to video via the Post-Gazette on YouTube. “So, I embrace the challenge. It’s difficult, but I feel like it means well for tight ends, just ’cause we’re running certain routes. Most tight ends are running similar routes and stuff like that, so, yeah, it’s fine. I’m excited for, for the opportunity.”
Freiermuth certainly has a great opportunity in front of him this season with Rodgers under center. The Steelers haven’t had a quarterback that they could trust to attack the middle of the field in recent years, but they have that now in Rodgers, who still has a great arm and a quick release, and can also read the field extremely well.
According to Pro Football Focus, Rodgers threw for 2,077 yards between the numbers on 187-of-261 attempts (71.6% completion), with 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions. That bodes well for the Steelers’ offense, which didn’t utilize the middle of the field enough during the last few seasons.
Despite not having much work between the numbers last season, Freiermuth had a strong year for the Steelers, finishing with 65 receptions for 653 yards and seven touchdowns, matching his career-high in touchdowns dating back to his rookie season when he was catching passes from Roethlisberger.
Since then, it’s been a roller coaster for Freiermuth, who has had his struggles with drops, health and consistency while learning to work with new quarterbacks each and every year. That will be the case again in 2025 with Rodgers, but there’s an excitement there due to the level of talent he’ll get a chance to work with.
During mandatory minicamp, Freiermuth stated that he was focused on getting on the same page with Rodgers, establishing that chemistry and understanding of how he likes to run routes and how Rodgers likes to place the ball on certain routes, too, not to mention timing on plays.
With six weeks off between now and the start of training camp, hopefully Freiermuth is part of the group that will head out to California to work with Rodgers ahead of training camp, speeding up the development process between the two.
And it could lead to a rather lucrative season from a production standpoint for the veteran, tight end, too, who needs to put together back-to-back strong seasons to start to rebuild the narrative surrounding him in the Steel City at the tight end position.
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