The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a bizarre team to follow throughout the 2020s. There have been so many different versions of the team with new players lining up under center nearly every season, but Pittsburgh finally found some continuity as Aaron Rodgers returned to be the starter for the 2026 season. One of his favorite targets has proved to be tight end Pat Freiermuth as the veteran has been more involved in the offense as a whole, and especially in the red zone. Freiermuth has scored quite a bit through the first five games of the year, and the fan base is happy to see him finally be able to showcase his talent.
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Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth warms up for game against the Indianapolis Colts at Acrisure Stadium.
The roster in Pittsburgh has been changed over a lot throughout the last several years, but there have been several constants. There are the obvious ones like Cam Heyward, Chris Boswell, and TJ Watt, but there are even some of the younger guys that have turned into natural leaders that have been with the team for quite some time now. Freiermuth is one of those players as he was drafted by the organization back in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Freiermuth was a rookie during Ben Roethlisberger's final season in the NFL, but he was one of the quarterback's favorite targets, and the two also became very close. Roethlisberger has continued to speak highly of the tight end and he is constantly saying that the Steelers need to get him more involved in the offense. Freiermuth spoke with KDKA-TV's Richie Walsh ahead of Week 5's game against the Indianapolis Colts, and he shared something he learned from his time with Roethlisberger.
"I always go back to when we were in my rookie year," Freiermuth said. "When I learned what it truly meant to be a Steeler and what a Steeler is, is we were in Cincinnati and we were getting beat pretty bad and Ben looked in the huddle and said, 'Steelers never give up regardless of the circumstances,' And that's just something that really stuck with me. It's bigger than yourself. It's bigger than the team. It's really about the whole city and all of the fans."
The Steelers were swept by the Cincinnati Bengals back during his rookie season in 2021, and neither game was pretty, so it is hard to decipher which game he is actually talking about. The worst of the two games ended with a score of 41-10, so it is safe to assume it was that one. Roethlisberger stayed in the game despite being at the end of his career, and he delivered an important lesson to his young tight end.
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Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth catches a pass during a Week 7 matchup against the Bengals in 2025.
At one point in that loss to the Bengals the Steelers were down 41-3, but Roethlisberger connected with Freiermuth on a touchdown in the fourth quarter to finally reach double digits on the scoreboard. This was an important lesson for Freiermuth to learn from one of the best players to ever wear the black and gold, and it is something he can continue to pass down as his career goes on.
Steelers Are Taking A New Approach
Bringing in a new head coach in Mike McCarthy meant there were going to be some changes, and one of those changes was with how the team does captains. There are no season-long captains under McCarthy, he instead chooses three or four players each week to be the captains and go out for the coin toss. For the most part this includes different players every week, and it allows different guys to experience what it is like to be a leader.
Freiermuth does not need to be one of the guys going out for the coin toss to be considered a leader. He is actually one of the longest-tenured guys on the team, and lessons from Roethlisberger early on in his career helped shape who he is today.
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