Steelers Now
To say the least, things did not go well for Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth under former offensive coordinator Arthur Smith last season. Smith’s personnel usage with Freiermuth was confusing. Smith continued to play Jonnu Smith even though he lacked chemistry with Aaron Rodgers all year.
Freiermuth is coming off a career low in offensive snap percentage (51%), targets per game (3.2) and receiving yards per game (2.4), yet he had his most efficient season when it came to to yards per target (9) and yards per catch (11).
Freiermuth admitted during locker room clean out day that the 2025 season was a trying year for him.
Freiermuth finished the season with 41 receptions on 53 targets for 486 yards (11.9 average) and four touchdowns. Freiermuth’s playing time dipped with the emergence of Darnell Washington and Smith receiving snaps over him.
“I would say that I am disappointed with the lack of opportunities I was given, but at the end of the day, I’m a team player, and I was proud of myself for not making it about myself,” Freiermuth said.
Unlike Smith and Matt Canada, Mike McCarthy is a guru when it comes to the passing game. Freiermuth should have a career year in 2026 with McCarthy leading the offense and the new additions of Michael Pittman Jr. and Germie Bernard at wide receiver.
Former Steelers linebacker Vince Williams expects Freiermuth to flourish in McCarthy‘s offense. Williams believes Freiermuth will remind everyone how good he really is in 2026.
“I think, a lot of the time, we’ve forgotten how good he was. We’ve forgotten the player that we paid and how dominant he could be because of the offense that he played in,” Williams said on Steelers Nation Radio. “I think he’s a person that could take another step forward and really remind everybody what he’s capable of.”
In his five-year career, Freiermuth has recorded 261 receptions for 2,676 yards (10.3 average) and 22 touchdowns.
Freiermuth signed a four-year, $48.4 million contract extension with the Steelers in September of 2024, which runs through the 2028 season. The deal included an $11.6 million total guarantee and an average annual value (AAV) of $12.1 million.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Why Pat Freiermuth Will Be the X-Factor in Mike McCarthy’s Offense
