The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a slew of injuries so far in the 2023 NFL season. Many of their key players have missed significant time for various ailments. A big injury the Steelers have been dealing with for the majority of the year has been their third-year tight end Pat Freiermuth, who suffered a hamstring injury during the team's Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans. He has missed the last five games, which has been a significant blow for the Steelers offense, however he will make his return in Week 11 against the Cleveland Browns after being activated from injured reserve.
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Steelers Pat Freiermuth celebrates his touchdown catch against the Buffalo Bills during the 2023 preseason.
Steelers Activate Freiermuth From Injured Reserve
The Steelers opened up Freiermuth's 21-day practice window at the beginning of their week of practice in preparation for the Browns. He has not played a snap since early October. He was initially aiming to return to the Steelers lineup for the team's Week 7 game against the Los Angeles Rams, but he re-aggravated his hamstring injury during practice and wound up on injured reserve.
Freiermuth's return to the Steelers lineup should give the offense a much needed jolt of energy. He is one of Kenny Pickett's favorite targets, and his presence will open up the passing game.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers Pat Freiermuth celebrates with Kenny Pickett after he scored a touchdown against the New York Jets in 2022.
Prior to Freiermuth's injury, he wasn't having a great season and it seemed he was being under-utilized within the offense. During the 2023 season, Freiermuth has caught just eight passes for 53 yards. Two of those receptions were touchdowns, but otherwise, it has been a fairly disappointing season so far for the young tight end.
While Freiermuth has been sidelined, both Connor Heyward and Darnell Washington have been taking the majority of the snaps at tight end for the Steelers, but production at the position has been hard to come by for Pittsburgh in 2023. With Freiermuth being activated off of injured reserve, this should change.
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Mykal Walker in his Falcons uniform during a game
Steelers Make Some Roster Changes On The Defensive Side Of The Ball
The Steelers victories in both Weeks 9 and 10 each came with a price, as they lost a key player for the season in both games. In Week 9, inside linebacker, Cole Holcomb went down with a gruesome knee injury on Thursday Night Football against the Tennessee Titans. The injury was so bad that the national broadcast refused to show a replay. Then, in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers, the Steelers lost Kwon Alexander to an achilles injury.
The Steelers will be turning towards Mykal Walker and Tariq Carpenter to help fill the holes at the inside linebacker position left by the injuries to Holcomb and Alexander. The Steelers announced they signed Walker to the active roster and elevated Carpenter from the practice squad. Walker, in particular, is a player that many Steelers fans are excited to see, as he had over 100 tackles in 2022 with the Atlanta Falcons to go along with two interceptions.
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Steelers' Najee Harris tackled by Mykal Walker
The Steelers also elevated safety Trenton Thompson from the practice squad, Thompson is expected to play a decent amount in the Week 11 matchup with the Browns due to the injuries to Minkah Fitzpatrick and Keanu Neal. Neal suffered a rib injury in the Steelers Week 10 game and was placed on injured Reserve. Despite the many injuries, Steelers fans have a lot to look forward to in Week 11 with Freiermuth finally making his way back onto the field and playing his first game since Week 4.
What do you think of the roster moves made by the Steelers? Let us know in the comments below!
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