The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in somewhat of an organizational reset heading into the 2026 season. New head coach Mike McCarthy and his staff have their work cut out for them to try and change the narrative in the Steel City and get a playoff win, which would be the first one in nearly 10 years if they are able to do so. The team did a great job in free agency to bolster the collective ahead of the 2026 campaign. The coaching staff may help as well, as Mike DeFabo of The Athletic recently discussed a former coach potentially holding back one player on offense.
Matt Freed / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Steelers new Head Coach Mike McCarthy smiles as he addresses the media during his introductory press conference that took place at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA.
DeFabo joined 93.7 The Fan on Friday and discussed how former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith was focused on Jonnu Smith being the main tight end in Pittsburgh in 2025. During the conversation, he mentioned a moment in practice last year where tight end Pat Freiermuth was essentially embarrassed in practice. Freiermuth had a limited role with minimal contributions to the offense in 2025, and it appears there is now some insight as to why that was.
"I remember sitting there at practice on day, and Pat Freiermuth went to go in to run a play," DeFabo said. "They basically grabbed him by the back of the jersey and pulled him out and pushed Jonnu Smith in. Which really just illustrated how those two guys played a very similar role in the offense."
The good news for the five year veteran from Penn State is that Arthur Smith was not retained on McCarthy's new staff, so he may now have more chances to produce moving forward. In 2025, Freiermuth had 41 receptions for 486 yards and four touchdowns for Pittsburgh. Despite the low production, he did manage to produce 11.9 yards per reception.
Freiermuth had a massive game in Week 7 of 2025 against the Cincinnati Bengals in a road game, catching five passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns on the road. The Bengals did prevail 33-31 in the contest, but Freiermuth had major contributions to the offensive success in the Week 7 tilt. However, these recent comments from DeFabo make it clear that Arthur Smith just was not a fan of utilizing Freiermuth despite the flashes of success on the field.
Associated Press
Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth runs free of the Cincinnati Bengals defense in a game in 2025.
The franchise does not seem to have the same outlook on Freiermuth, as it signed him to a four-year $48.4 million extension in September of 2024. The deal keeps the tight end in the Black and Gold through the 2028 season. Now, it appears he will have a chance to turn over a new leaf in the Steel City with the offensive-minded McCarthy and his staff.
Steelers Now Have The Chance To Give Freiermuth More Opportunities
McCarthy is often times referred to as a quarterback whisperer, give his work with past great NFL quarterbacks like Brett Favre and Joe Montana throughout his coaching career. He will now reunite in Pittsburgh with Aaron Rodgers, who clearly lacked weapons last year outside of wide receiver DK Metcalf. The team definitely could have used some more looks from Freiermuth, but Arthur Smith seems to have been against that idea.
That game in Cincinnati where Freiermuth went off accounted for almost 25 percent of his production in the 2025 season. However, even when struggling in the Wild Card Round against the Houston Texans, the team remained stubborn and did not look his way often. Given McCarthy's offensive-minded philosophies and how he likes to have weapons on that side of the ball, the organization has a chance to give him more opportunities and get value from the extension given to him.
Carolyn Kaster / Associated Press
Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth celebrates a first down in a 2023 NFL game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Pittsburgh ranked 25th in the NFL in total offense during the 2025 season, with a 305.6 yards per game mark. Now McCarthy steps in looking to change that, and he already has an answer to help matters with Freiermuth. DeFabo did not provide reasoning behind the fixation on Jonnu Smith at tight end, but it is clear that Freiermuth may have been held back by the previous coaching staff.
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