Pat Freiermuth entered the 2025 season with big expectations. The Steelers once again didn’t have great wide receiver depth, but there was hope Freiermuth would make that less of an issue. Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith had a history of heavily utilizing tight ends, too. Unfortunately, Freiermuth underwhelmed, having one of his worst NFL seasons. He only caught 41 passes for 486 yards and four touchdowns. As a result, analyst Gregg Rosenthal thinks that Freiermuth could be a trade candidate for Pittsburgh.
“Pat Freiermuth, they barely played him last year,” Rosenthal said recently on his NFL Daily podcast. “He’s due $9.1 million in total compensation this season. He has an extremely tradeable contract. Maybe Mike McCarthy has a different vision for him. That could absolutely happen…
“He didn’t seem to fit with Rodgers for whatever reason. And I actually think he would have a market… He seems like one that stands out to me because he’s in the middle of his prime. He’s a solid player, but maybe he’s not a fit there anymore.”
Freiermuth’s 2025 usage certainly made it seem like he was falling out of favor with the Steelers, for whatever reason. He often got out-snapped by Darnell Washington, and even Jonnu Smith was more involved than Freiermuth in certain games.
That was one of the most confusing parts of the Steelers’ season. It still doesn’t make sense why Freiermuth got shelved so often. Good things happened when he was targeted. His five-catch, 111-yard, two-touchdown explosion against the Cincinnati Bengals proved that.
It didn’t seem like he and Rodgers lacked chemistry, either. Jonnu Smith was the tight end that couldn’t get on the same page as Rodgers. The Steelers continuing to try to force him to work was baffling. That’s part of why Freiermuth’s falloff felt like more of a product of Arthur Smith’s offense.
It made sense why Washington got more playing time. He was an integral part of Pittsburgh’s running game. Also, he improved as a pass catcher. However, there wasn’t as clearcut of a reason for Smith seeing similar or more snaps than Freiermuth. That felt like an Arthur Smith decision. He had a lot of familiarity with Jonnu Smith, with the two working together for several years with two other teams.
However, Smith is out as the Steelers’ offensive coordinator. Also, Jonnu Smith looks like an obvious cut candidate for the team. Therefore, Freiermuth might be better positioned to succeed in 2026.
This isn’t the best time to trade Freiermuth, either. His value likely wouldn’t be worth it. He’s a good player and he emphasized after this past season that he wants to stay with the Steelers. The team already has plenty of draft capital, too. There are more cons than pros to getting rid of Freiermuth at this time.
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