Coming off a recent contract extension and with a veteran quarterback in town, many hoped that Pat Freiermuth would blossom in his second year in Arthur Smith’s offense. Although he has had a few massive plays, they’ve been extremely sporadic. Overall, his usage has been far less than expected, compared to his annual average value of about $12 million.
With Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith having key roles in the offense, Freiermuth’s opportunities have gone down significantly. It’s getting to the point that Steelers insider Ray Fittipaldo wonders if he’s worth keeping around after this season, as well as Jonnu Smith.
“It doesn’t make much sense to keep Freiermuth if he’s going to be your third tight end. Certainly not at the price they’re paying him,” Fittipaldo wrote Tuesday in his chat with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “They could also move on from Jonnu Smith and feature Freiermuth along with Washington, but it does not seem like Arthur Smith wants to do that now, so why would he want to do that in the future?”
Freiermuth’s not completely lost in the offense, but he’s certainly no focal point. He has 29 targets on the year, leaving him well behind Smith’s 38. He also has just three more targets than Washington’s 26, but Washington’s average of 11.6 yards per reception is surprisingly similar to Freiermuth’s 12.1. That figure is mainly boosted by his 68-yard touchdown from about a month ago.
From Aaron Rodgers to Mike Tomlin and Arthur Smith, the Steelers have stressed patience with Pat Freiermuth. Yet, that patience hasn’t amounted to much. He had that massive two-touchdown game against the Bengals in Week 7. Since then, his highest yardage total in a game has been 33, against Indianapolis a couple of weeks ago. And in his last four games, he’s only reached 20 receiving yards twice.
It’s not like the talent isn’t there. Freiermuth had just one target on Sunday, but made the most of it. Catching the ball just ahead of the line of scrimmage, Freiermuth managed to turn it into a first down and a gain of 19 yards.
Plenty of things are contributing to his lack of production this year. Washington’s emergence and Arthur Smith’s obsession with Jonnu Smith are two major ones. Rodgers has also been inconsistent in the pocket in recent weeks. None of it is helping Freiermuth establish any consistency.
At some point, it becomes a question. He’s been good when utilized, but it’s not happening often this year. He’s averaging just 27.9 receiving yards per game, the lowest total in any injury-free season of his career. If that continues for the rest of the year, moving his contract could become a storyline this offseason.
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