Pat Freiermuth playing just 15 snaps in the Steelers’ Week 4 win in Dublin, Ireland, over the Minnesota Vikings was eye-opening, as Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward saw more snaps than he and fellow veteran TE Jonnu Smith did.
It was all a game-plan thing though as the Steelers saw an advantage against the Vikings’ defensive front and leaned heavily on their jumbo package with Washington and extra offensive lineman Spencer Anderson, pushing Minnesota in the run game.
That hasn’t stopped discussions about Freiermuth’s lack of usage and limited playing time this season. But as head coach Mike Tomlin explained Tuesday in his press conference, it was strictly a game-plan thing with Freiermuth and Smith’s limited snaps, nothing more.
For Freiermuth, who spoke to 102.5 WDVE’s Mike Prisuta Wednesday, according to audio played on the radio Thursday, he’s not stressing too much about his lack of snaps or usage in the passing game so far this season.
“Yeah, I’ve developed as a blocker. Super confident in that. Again, like what Mike T said in his press conference, there’s truth to that,” Freiermuth said to Prisuta, according to audio via DVE. “I mean, Darnell’s 300-plus pounds. But yeah, no, I have full trust in Art [offensive coordinator Arthur Smith], the front office. I have full trust. They’ve never given me a reason to not trust them.
“And it was a game-plan thing. I’m not stressing too much about it.”
Tomlin’s explanation on Tuesday made a great deal of sense. The Vikings are a 4-3 defense and have bigger defensive ends like Jonathan Greenard, as well as bigger defensive linemen in Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen who move all around.
That’s a tough assignment for a smaller TE like Freiermuth or even Jonnu Smith to have to handle in the run game. With the Steelers having the right personnel in Washington, and even a swing tackle like Anderson whom they wanted to get into the game, it made sense to lean into that.
They had a great deal of success utilizing the jumbo package, too. You can only have 11 players on the field at a time, and it became a numbers game with Freiermuth and Smith.
But it’s not just one week that has people concerned. Freiermuth has played just 112 snaps this season, 18 less than Smith, and has just seven receptions on nine targets in four games for 65 yards. He had a big drop against Seattle on an incredible throw from Aaron Rodgers and had a miscommunication with Rodgers on scramble drill against New England, leading to the veteran QB laying into him.
He needs to be better, but he also needs to be more of a point of emphasis in the passing game, especially in the middle of the field. He hasn’t been just yet, and it’s concerning many. Just not Freiermuth, at least not yet.
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