Steelers Now
Former Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert thinks the best is yet to come from one of the team’s veterans.
The Pittsburgh Steelers roster is highlighted by several veterans who will soon likely begin to decline. However, former Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert believes one of them is still ascending.
Colbert thinks there’s a good chance that Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth‘s best football is still ahead of him.
“Pat’s one stand-out ability was the ability to make a contested catch. He’s not the fastest guy, but he can get open, and making contested catches is really a good quality of his,” Colbert said via Scott Brown of Steelers Depot. “This will be his first season on coach [Mike] McCarthy’s offense. … He’s a very good NFL tight end. Have we seen the best of him? Probably not. New offense, we’ll see what happens.”
Freiermuth hasn’t been regarded as one of the best tight ends in the league since entering it as a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. But he has been very reliable when his name has been called, recording 261 catches for 2,676 yards and 22 touchdowns.
Unfortunately, the Steelers didn’t rely on him very much in 2025 as he posted the second fewest catches (41) and receiving yards (486) in his career.
Since then, however, Pittsburgh parted ways with veteran Jonnu Smith, who stole 38 catches for 222 yards and a lot of reps from Freiermuth a season ago.
That, paired with another year of working with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, could make Colbert look very smart come season’s end.
A native of Merrimac, Massachusetts, Freiermuth played college football at Penn State, where he recorded 92 receptions for 1,185 yards and 16 touchdowns from 2018-20.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Ex-GM Kevin Colbert Believes Steelers Veteran is Still Ascending
