Steelers' Pat Freiermuth Still Suffering From Fierce Chest Injury From Week 1

It's been a weird start to the 2023 season for Pittsburgh Steelers tight end, Pat Freiermuth. After the team selected him in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, he became an integral part of the offense immediately. In Ben Roethlisberger's final season in Pittsburgh, he immediately turned to Freiermuth as his security blanket. Since retiring, Roethlisberger has tabbed the talented tight end as a guy that he wishes he could've played with longer.

Despite a new duo in the quarterback room in 2022, the tight end was still able to take that next step forward in his second season. He established himself as one of the better tight ends in all of football heading into 2023, as he had 1,229 receiving yards in his first two seasons combined. Unfortunately, he suffered a chest injury in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers. According to DK Pittsburgh Sports' Dejan Kovacevic, Freiermuth is still recovering from that massive hit. 

"No, Pat Freiermuth's no longer on the injury report. There are no parentheses after his name. No updates on whether or not he practiced on a given day, since he doesn't skip any. No worries over who might have to replace him. No lowered bar for how he'd fare in games. And yet, he's barely breathing," Kovacevic said in his postgame report.

This wouldn't be surprising, and it would explain why he possibly hasn't been very involved to start the season. Despite taking the crushing blow against the 49ers, he was active for the Week 2 game against the Cleveland Browns. In those first two games, Freiermuth combined for just two catches total for five yards and a touchdown. On Sunday Night Football, the Steelers were able to get him involved a little bit more.

In the victory over the Las Vegas Raiders, Freiermuth finished with three catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. That included his notorious touchdown celebration, his second of the season, which is him just "dabbing" relentlessly. It was the most usage that he has seen this season, but the four targets are still a low number for him. His blocking has still struggled at times as well, which has led to criticism from former players.

Should The Steelers Get Their Tight Ends More Involved?

When Diontae Johnson went down with an injury, it seemed like the star tight end would be an obvious pick to get more targets moving forward. That just hasn't been the case though, as the passing game has continued to struggle. With George Pickens drawing double teams, it's even more surprising that the offense hasn't looked to Freiermuth a bit more. The offense has failed to use the middle of the field, which has hurt Freiermuth the most. 

As a whole, the group did show improvements in Week 3, albeit against a poor defense. Through three contests, Freiermuth has played 68% (122) of the team's offensive snaps. For reference, that number was at 62% and 68% in his first two NFL seasons. Given the team's depth at tight end now, it's not a surprise to see that number not go up. In fact, despite having one of the deeper tight end rooms in the NFL, the Steelers haven't used them much in the passing game to start the season.

Rookie Darnell Washington has played 79 (44%) offensive snaps so far, but he's been used as a blocker. The 2023 third-rounder is still on the search for his first career catch nearly a month into the season. Second-year tight end Connor Heyward has played just 40 (22%) offensive snaps, and he's only caught two of his six targets for 19 yards. The team has used him in different ways though, as he's lined up all over the field. In the Week 3 victory over the Raiders, they lined up him at fullback and handed it off to him on 3rd-and-1. Unfortunately, the offensive line didn't do him many favors and the Raiders stuffed Heyward short. 

It's amusing that the Steelers tight ends have under 70 receiving yards total through three games. Moving forward though, getting Freiermuth fully healthy should be a main priority. Fortunately for him, the Steelers have just two more games before the Week 6 bye. 

Does the team need to continue to get Freiermuth involved more? Do you think it's more on Pickett or Matt Canada on the offense not using the middle of the field often? When will we see Washington's first career catch? Share your thoughts in the comments below, yinz!

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