The Pittsburgh Steelers have had a good amount of roster turnover this decade, and that is especially true on the offensive side of the ball. However, one constant has been tight end Pat Freiermuth. Freiermuth was drafted in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he signed an extension before the 2024 season to keep him in Pittsburgh through the 2028 season. He is already the longest-tenured player on the offensive side of the ball for Pittsburgh, and he will only add to that number through the 2028 season if he plays out his entire second contract with the Steelers.
Associated Press
Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth runs free of the Cincinnati Bengals defense in a game in 2025.
Pittsburgh selected Freiermuth with the 55th overall pick back in 2021, and he became a high-impact player on the offense. He was with the team for Ben Roethlisberger's final season, and he was one of the quarterback's favorite targets in the red zone. On the year, he caught 60 passes for 497 yards and seven touchdowns. His production has been a bit of a rollercoaster since then as he has not been a focal point of the offense in some years, but there is no doubting that he is a really good player.
When Freiermuth arrived in Pittsburgh, Eric Ebron was the team's starting tight end. Ebron was near the end of his career. He was relatively young, but he had already gone through a handful of surgeries, and he knew the writing was on the wall when it came to his time in Pittsburgh coming to a close. He appeared on a recent episode of Raw Room, and he shared how he helped Freiermuth when Pittsburgh drafted him.
"My second year, we draft Fri -- I already know what that mean," Ebron said. "So Fri come in and I'm like, 'I'ma do what my OGs should have done for me. I'm going to tell you everything I know because if this is my last year here, what good is the information I got if I can't share it with you.' So Pat was my little homie bro. I tried to teach him everything. Because he is nice as f*ck. He is nice, nice. Nice as f*ck."
It sounds like Ebron did not have the best experience with the veteran tight ends he played with when he was drafted to the Detroit Lions back in 2014, with the most notable name in that room being Brandon Pettigrew. Ebron wanted to be sure that he passed everything down to Freiermuth that he had learned up until that point in his career.
Caitlyn Epes / Pittsburgh Steelers
Former Steelers tight end Eric Ebron walks off the field during a road game against the Buffalo Bills in 2021.
Ebron only played in eight games during the 2021 season, but he was still around the building and was able to mentor Freiermuth. He was able to tell just how good Freiermuth was, and when he shared that with the room during his appearance on Raw Room, all of the former NFL players agreed. This shows just how good of a tight end Freiermuth can be, and hopefully he is more involved in the offense in 2026.
During the 2025 season, Freiermuth caught 41 passes for 486 yards and four touchdowns, but there were some games where he wasn't involved at all. He has the potential to be a Pro Bowl-caliber player at the position, he just needs the targets.
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Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (88) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
Steelers' Pat Freiermuth Could Benefit From New Offense
Pittsburgh went out and hired Mike McCarthy to be the team's new head coach, and he brings along a new offensive system with him. Hopefully it is a system that caters to tight ends, as the franchise could be getting more out of Freiermuth. This would also be good news for Darnell Washington, who is entering the final year of his rookie deal. He could receive an extension before the season starts, but only time will tell.
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