Steelers Now
PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth played only 17 snaps and didn’t receive a single target in Sunday’s embarrassing 26-7 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Given Freiermuth’s nearly $13 million cap hit, it’s certainly head-scratching that the fifth-year tight end hasn’t been utilized like in years past this season.
Smith has been utilizing Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith over Freiermuth. Jonnu Smith has a history with Arthur Smith, as he played for him in Tennessee and Atlanta. Jonnu Smith has not been great, though. He has caught only 30 passes for 190 yards (6.3 average) and two touchdowns this year. He also wasn’t on the same page with quarterback Aaron Rodgers on a route on Sunday.
During his media availability on Thursday, offensive coordinator Arthur Smith explained the reasoning behind Freiermuth’s low snap count against Buffalo.
“It’s about packages,” Smith said. “Those guys, you’re talking about a few plays here and there. Darnell’s number really skyrocketed about Week 4, so he’s played the most. The rest of those guys, it’s been personnel circumstances. Sometimes, you talk about job descriptions and sometimes the flow of the game.”
Arthur Smith has a history of mixing personnel packages, which doesn’t always sit well with players. It was an issue when he was the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons.
“There’s context to everything. We’ve got guys with different skill sets, so we’ll look at the results. We’re 6-6. There’s always things you can do better,” Smith said.
“The tight end room, you mash up Pat, Darnell and Jonnu, and we don’t have anyone sitting there with 65 receptions. But the emergence of Darnell and Kenny [Gainwell], there’s give and take, and that’s kind of what’s gone on in certain ways.”
Freiermuth expressed his frustration when speaking with the media on Wednesday.
“Obviously it’s frustrating but at the end of the day I have complete faith in Arthur … Just got to be able to understand my role and hopefully it changes going forward‚” Freiermuth said. “Just got to be able to go out there and do what’s asked of me.”
Rodgers also touched on Freiermuht’s lack of usage on Wednesday.
“I felt like after Cincinnati, he was kind of getting going,” Rodgers said. “But Darnell [Washington] has also been playing exceptionally well. It’s hard to take Darnell off the field, he’s been so good. But I’d love to see more opportunities for Pat.”
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Steelers OC Arthur Smith Explains Pat Freiermuth’s Lack of Usage
