Pat Freiermuth Gets Alarming Message From Steelers: Analyst
One of the more alarming takeaways from the offensive debacle the Pittsburgh Steelers experienced in Week 13 versus the Buffalo Bills was tight end Pat Freiermuth’s playing time. Once again, Freiermuth took a back seat to fellow tight ends Darnell Washington and Jonnu Smith.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora argued Wednesday morning it’s the latest proof the team views Freiermuth as a $12.1 million backup.
“After the Bills’ field goal to make it 26-7, the Steelers’ offense took the field for three final snaps. Meaningless and uneventful. Two runs by rookie RB Kaleb Johnson, one incompletion by QB Mason Rudolph. Everyone simply ran out the clock,” wrote Kozora.
“Pittsburgh knew it, too. The Steelers pulled key starters and played as many backups as they could. Those removed? QB Aaron Rodgers, WR D.K. Metcalf, RB Jaylen Warren, RB Kenneth Gainwell, TE Darnell Washington, and OG Isaac Seumalo….
“The tight end who took the field? Pat Freiermuth.”
Washington led all Steelers tight ends with 34 offensive snaps against Buffalo. Smith was second at the position with 23 snaps.
Freiermuth played 17 offensive snaps, three of which came on the meaningless drive Kozora referenced.
Steelers See TE Pat Freiermuth as a Backup
It’s been repeated a lot since Sunday, but it’s important to note again that the Steelers only had 43 offensive snaps in Week 13. So, Freiermuth actually played 40% of the time on offense versus the Bills.
Still, that’s not the playing time a starting tight end receives. Before Sunday, even Freiermuth, who has seen his snaps greatly slashed this season, hadn’t lined up for 40% or fewer of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps since Week 6.
Freiermuth’s role is quickly becoming one of the more frustration aspects, especially on offense, of the Steelers’ 2025 season. Last year, Freiermuth posted 65 catches, 653 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. It was his second 650-yard campaign in three years. In the season where he didn’t reach that total, he missed five games.
Before 2025, Freiermuth appeared to have Pro Bowl potential. That’s largely why the Steelers signed the tight end to a four-year, $48.4 million extension.
Other recent high offensive draft picks in Pittsburgh — Najee Harris, George Pickens and Kenny Pickett — didn’t get second contracts from the Steelers. Freiermuth did.
But this fall, Freiermuth hasn’t had much of a role even in Arthur Smith’s tight end-centric offense.
What’s Freiermuth’s Future With Steelers?
The Steelers have a unique cap situation. They have a very expensive defense and a cheap quarterback not on a rookie deal.
Still, it’s worth noting Freiermuth possesses the sixth-highest cap hit among Steelers players this season. On offense, he’s second only to Aaron Rodgers and trails the quarterback by only a little more than $1 million.
Yet, Freiermuth is playing a career-low 48% of the team’s offensive snaps. Before this season, he had never been under 62% (counting the games in which he dressed).
Washington and Smith have both played more.
All three tight ends are signed through at least the 2026 season. So, it’s worth wondering what Freiermuth’s future could be in Pittsburgh.
It’s unlikely that his Pro Bowl potential suddenly disappeared this season. But he’s not getting the opportunities to reach that potential.
If the Steelers didn’t believe Freiermuth possessed that kind of ceiling, then they shouldn’t have signed him to a $48.4 million extension.
Despite the lack of playing time, Freiermuth is still second on the Steelers with 298 receiving yards in 2025. The offense needs a lot more production than that from their No. 2 pass-catcher. But Freiermuth requires more snaps if he’s going to be the guy to provide Rodgers another quality option in the passing attack.
That doesn’t appear to be likely to happen, though, given how the Steelers clearly view Freiermuth as their TE3.
Patriots’ Will Campbell Injury Timeline Clarified in New Report
The New England Patriots will be without their starting left tackle for the foreseeable future after Will Campbell suffered an ankle injury in the team’s Week 12 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Shortly after the game, the Patriots placed Campbell on injured reserve, but one NFL Insider is providing some additional information on his specific injury timeline.
“Well, he’s not out for the year, but this is a very significant injury,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer said on NBC Sports Boston’s pregame coverage. “He has a Grade 3 MCL sprain. That essentially means his MCL is torn. It’s a four-to-six week injury.”
He went on to say that the reason the Patriots ensured he would be sidelined for a minimum of four games was that they didn’t want him to try and come back before he was fully healed.
“One of the reasons they decided to put him on injured reserve was actually to protect him from himself,” Breer added. “They felt like, because of who he is, how tough he is, the sort of competitor he is, that he would push to get back earlier than that. This puts a governor on it. This forces him to go through a full recovery.”
When Are the Patriots Expecting Will Campbell Back
Campbell’s placement on injured reserve before the team’s primetime matchup against the Giants meant that he will have to miss a minimum of four games. Along with New York, he is set to be sidelined against the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, and New York Jets.
So, when are the Patriots expecting the star rookie to return?
“They’re going to try to get him back for the last game of the regular season,” Breer said on NBC Sports Boston. “Even that may be pushing it a little bit. This is not a minor injury, though. This is an MCL tear, a Grade 3 MCL sprain, which again necessitates a four-to-six-week recovery.”
However, it’s important that the Patriots don’t try to push him into returning sooner than he is ready, especially if they plan to continue their success deep into the postseason.
“I just think it’s one of those where you have to be careful about guys pushing it,” Breer explained. “It’s the type of injury that you can aggravate, and you can make worse by playing on it. And there are a lot of examples of guys, especially in a position like Will Campbell’s, trying to play through these sorts of things. So I think in a certain way, the Patriots put him on IR, trying to look out for him and trying to make sure that he does go through as full a recovery as you can in season.”
Who Is Filling In at Left Tackle for Will Campbell?
Vederian Lowe replaced Campbell against the Bengals and got the start on Monday night against the Giants. He was given a tall task, having to protect quarterback Drake Maye’s blind side against a talented New York pass rush.
However, Maye made it clear that he had full faith in Lowe, along with guard Left Brown, who was filling in for Jared Wilson. And the two rose to the challenge.
“I told them I had full faith in them,” Maye said. “We had a lot of reps last year dropping back and trusting those guys. I think they’re great players, and they’ve stepped up, like I said, in pregame. I think they stepped up all year anybody that’s been thrown in the fire. Proud of them.”
