Steelers offseason roster
Steelers offseason roster
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June and next up is the team’s annual training camp, which will get underway in the latter part of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of that, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time. This Steelers roster preview, which includes an outlook for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow. This series figures to exceed 90 players as the team can carry 91 players during the offseason due to the allowance of one international player designation.
The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2025 training camp are Pat Freiermuth, Kenneth Gainwell, and JJ Galbreath.
TE Pat Freiermuth: Fresh off signing a four-year, $48.4 million contract extension with the Steelers last summer, Freiermuth went on to have a very above-the-line 2024 season, especially as a receiver, for the team that selected him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Penn State. Freiermuth registered 65 regular-season receptions for 653 yards and seven touchdowns on 78 total targets. That was a career year in receptions for Freiermuth as was his 8.4 yards per target.
After missing five games in 2023 due to injuries, Freiermuth played in every game in 2024 on his way to registering 776 regular-season offensive snaps, which was also a career high for him. Additionally, Freiermuth logged another 81 snaps on special teams in 2024.
Freiermuth was moved all around on offense in 2024, and he wound up playing slightly more snaps in the slot than he did in-line or out wide. It should be noted that Freiermuth’s 2024 season as a blocker was likely the worst of his NFL career to date. His four drops in 2024 were also a career high for him as well.
As far as leadership development goes, Freiermuth certainly established himself as one of those on offense in 2024.
Outlook: For his NFL career, Freiermuth has averaged 3.6 receptions per game and 35.9 yards receiving per contest as well. Because of that, in addition to the team adding veteran QB Aaron Rodgers as its starter this offseason, there’s no reason to think that Freiermuth won’t at least equal those two averages in 2025. In short, Freiermuth could very well have a career year in 2025 and especially if he is able to stay healthy and again play in all 17 regular-season games.
Assuming the Steelers don’t add another playmaking wide receiver this summer, Freiermuth could very well wind up as the team’s second receiving leader in 2025, with only WR DK Metcalf likely to finish ahead of him. Seventy receptions for 750 yards and five touchdowns is a 2025 stat line that seems very reachable for Freiermuth.
Freiermuth is what he is as a run blocker at this point in his career. If he can improve even slightly in that phase of his game in 2025, the Steelers’ running game is sure to benefit from it. He’ll be on the field again quite a bit in 2025 and especially on run downs. He’ll move around quite a bit on offense as well.
RB Kenneth Gainwell: In March, the Steelers signed Gainwell to a one-year free agent contract that totaled $1.79 million, of which just $620,000 is fully guaranteed. Prior to arriving in Pittsburgh, Gainwell spent four years with the Philadelphia Eagles, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Memphis.
Last season, Gainwell, who played quite a bit on third down, finished the year with 75 rushes for 290 yards and one touchdown while chipping in 16 receptions for another 116 yards. Gainwell also returned 18 kickoffs in 2024 for a solid 25.3-yard average. He also chipped in 16 total touches for 68 yards in the playoffs last season on the way to the Eagles ultimately winning the Super Bowl.
All told, Gainwell logged 301 regular-season snaps in 2024 with 114 others coming on special teams. For his NFL career, Gainwell has logged 1,372 total offseason snaps in regular-season contests and 250 more on special teams.
For his NFL career, Gainwell has rushed 280 times for 1,185 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s also caught 102 passes for 721 yards and one score in the 66 regular-season games he has dressed for. Gainwell has also returned 27 total kickoffs in regular season play to date for 612 yards.
***Outlook:***When the Steelers signed Gainwell in March, the team had yet to add RB Kaleb Johnson via the 2025 NFL Draft. With Johnson now in the fold, and with RB Jaylen Warren expected to have a heavier workload in the Steelers’ backfield in 2025, Gainwell’s playing time on offense is sure to be muted barring any injuries.
Gainwell, at the very least, should be able to play in all down-and-distance situations and especially on third downs as a pass catcher. His best value as a player on offense is one who gets the football out in open space, something the Steelers found out firsthand when they played the Eagles last season.
Gainwell’s pass blocking isn’t great so that will be a concern if he’s put into a lot of those situations. Additionally, his special teams value to the 2025 Steelers is more as a kickoff returner than anything else. Because of that, Gainwell is likely to get consideration when it comes to being the team’s main kickoff returner in 2025.
In summation, it’s hard to imagine Gainwell garnering more than 100 offensive snaps in 2025, especially if Warren and Johnson both remain healthy. He should be expected to be a role/situational player on offense in 2025 and possibly the team’s primary kickoff returner as well. He could very well wind up with more receptions than rushes in 2025.
TE JJ Galbreath: The Steelers signed Galbreath as an undrafted free agent in April. He played four seasons at South Dakota and appeared in 45 career games with 30 starts on his way to catching 93 passes for 1,355 yards (14.6 avg.) and 12 touchdowns. 48 of those receptions and nine touchdown receptions were registered during his final two college seasons. He did miss four games in 2024 due to an undisclosed injury.
At his 2025 college pro day, Galbreath, who was not invited to the annual NFL Scouting Combine, measured in at 6033, 231 pounds with 32-inch arms. He ran his 40-yard dash in 4.68 seconds, posted a vertical jump of 38 inches, a broad jump of 10’3″ to go along with a short-shuttle time of 4.20 seconds and a three-cone drill time of 6.82 seconds. He also completed 12 reps on the bench at his pro day.
Galbreath was mostly used as an in-line tight end at South Dakota. He did, however, line up in the slot, out wide and as a detached tight end some throughout his college career. Galbreath exited college as a below-average run blocker and more of a receiving threat than anything.
Outlook: Galbreath’s path to a 53-man roster spot this summer will be a tough one, even on the heels of the Steelers losing tight end Donald Parham Jr. to an Achilles injury during offseason practices.
While he is a nice receiving threat and move tight end option, Galbreath’s run blocking needs a lot of refinement. His 32-inch arms won’t help when it comes to that phase of his game. While he does have some experience on special teams from his college career, that part of his game is not likely to be viewed as a huge asset.
Overall, Galbreath’s best chance at remaining in Pittsburgh after the preseason is completed is likely as a practice squad member. Even so, the Steelers are once again likely to keep quite a few tight ends on their 53-man roster so it’s at least plausible that Galbreath could steal one of those spots and especially if he has a solid training camp and preseason as both a blocker and special teams player.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Calvin Anderson, Spencer Anderson, Calvin Austin III
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Keeanu Benton, Beanie Bishop Jr., Yahya Black
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Chris Boswell, Nick Broeker, Carson Bruener
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Sebastian Castro, Dylan Cook, Domenique Davis
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Brandin Echols, Daniel Ekuale, DeShon Elliott
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Troy Fautanu, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Zach Frazier
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