Coming into the 2025 season, it was clear the Pittsburgh Steelers needed somebody to take some food off DK Metcalf’s plate. Who better to do that than Pat Freiermuth? A talented tight end who is being paid handsomely at $12 million per year.
According to Arthur Smith, anybody else is the answer. Freiermuth saw a decent workload in his first year in Smith’s offense, but it’s been the exact opposite this season. At this point, the lack of usage is alarming, according to Steelers beat writer Mark Kaboly.
“Pat Freiermuth’s disappearance from being a consistent option in the Steelers offense – a year after signing a 4-year, $48.4 million extension – cannot be explained. It’s just blatant negligence at this point…This weird phobia they all of a sudden have when it comes to featuring, arguably, their best option at a WR2 left on the roster….It’s criminal,” Kaboly wrote Thursday on X. “Something tells me that nothing will change, and that’s not only a shame, but it also has the feel of cutting your nose off to spite your face.”
Kaboly: Refusal to use Pat Freiermuth can be classified as nothing more than blatant negligence
Mark Kaboly / Steelers Correspondent
For The @PatMcAfeeShow
PITTSBURGH — Humor me here for a moment.
Let’s just say if the Steelers were afforded the opportunity right now to create… pic.twitter.com/8daCFdcZZO
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly) November 27, 2025
It’s hard to argue with Kaboly here. After having 653 receiving yards last year, Freiermuth has just 298 through 11 games. But even that number is inflated by a 111-yard performance against Cincinnati earlier in the year. If you were to take that game out of the equation, he doesn’t have a single game with 35 or more receiving yards.
The other tight ends on the roster explain this a little bit. Darnell Washington is growing up in front of our eyes, and the Steelers have tried as many times as possible to get Jonnu Smith going, to no avail.
And through all that, they decide not to use the tight end they signed to a hefty four-year extension two offseasons ago.
It doesn’t make any sense, especially considering two of the biggest problems facing the Steelers’ offense. One of the biggest is an inability — or unwillingness — to attack the middle of the field. Of course, that’s an area Freiermuth can certainly help. He had a rare touchdown over the middle last week against the Bears.
Freiermuth has four touchdowns on the year. Three of them have been inside the 25-yard line. All on crossing or seam routes towards the middle just like this one. You would think an offense that struggles to use the middle of the field would look back to one of the only times in which it has success doing so, when targeting a zone-killing tight end in Pat Freiermuth there. But that would make too much sense for the Steelers’ decision makers to consider.
Another problem the Steelers have is simply the lack of a WR2. Metcalf has been too inconsistent. Part of the reason being the lack of attention the Steelers can draw away from him. Nobody else has stepped into that role, but the Steelers still haven’t given Freiermuth a chance. He’s got more versatile of a skill set than most tight ends, and can make plays down the field. For the life of me I don’t understand why the Steelers don’t try to utilize him out wide or in the slot more often. He can make plays with his legs.
Throughout the season Mike Tomlin, Arthur Smith and Aaron Rodgers have preached patience with Pat Freiermuth. But those words amount to nothing. The Steelers have plenty of struggles offensively. And their offensive coordinator, who loves tight ends as much as he does, is simply choosing not to use one of the Steelers’ better weapons. It doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.
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