Tight end Pat Freiermuth should get more opportunities to play in 2026 after seeing a significant dip in his playing time last season. The Pittsburgh Steelers parted with Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward, which will open up more snaps for other Steelers tight ends.
Granted, Freiermuth will still have to split snaps with fellow Pittsburgh tight end Darnell Washington. But Freiermuth seems to see that as an advantage more than anything.
“I think me and Darnell play really well off each other. His strong suit, he picks up for me in what I kind of lack in and vice versa,” said Freiermuth to reporters Thursday.
“We play well off each other and I’m just excited to keep working with me. Just seeing his growth as a football player but most importantly, as a man off the field, I’m just super proud of him.
“Just can’t say enough good things about him. He really means a lot to me.”
Freiermuth led all Steelers tight ends in 2025 with 41 catches and 486 receiving yards. Washington was second among the team’s tight ends with 31 receptions and 364 receiving yards.
Both were top five for the Steelers in receiving yards.
Pat Freiermuth Addresses Role in Mike McCarthy’s Offense
Freiermuth discussing his relationship with Washington to reporters at offseason workouts started with the tight end responding to questions about his role in the team’s new offense.
Freiermuth has answered a lot of questions about playing time since September. While he led Steelers tight ends in every receiving category during 2025, his statistics were less than pretty much all of his other seasons in the league.
Washington and Smith played more snaps. Freiermuth was on the field 51% of the time in 2025, which was the lowest percentage of his career.
In 2024, Freiermuth played 69% of the team’s offensive snaps.
The 27-year-old clearly wants to play more. But since last season, he has stressed the team and winning over his individual success. Freiermuth did that again Thursday.
“It’s obviously tough. I play this sport because of my competitive nature and my drive to be the best I can be,” said Freiermuth. “But I also understand there’s a lot of guys on the team and everyone wants the most success. I’d take a division title and a home playoff game over some stats that people will look back on and not even remember.”
How Steelers Manage Freiermuth, Darnell Washington at TE
Without Smith in the tight end room, there could be more opportunities for both Freiermuth and Washington. The question, though, is how the Steelers balance their dual-threat at tight end in an offense that doesn’t use double-tight end sets as often.
Previous offensive coordinator Arthur Smith didn’t favor Freiermuth over the team’s other two top tight ends. But in Smith’s offense, the team’s top 3 tight ends all played at least half the time.
In Mike McCarthy’s system, there’s going to be a lot more occasions where only one tight end is on the field. Still, Freiermuth is looking forward to his chance to shine.
“I see an opportunity for that to be possible,” said Freiermuth when asked if he could get more targets in 2026.
“Just going through the install, I can see a lot of that.”
The Steelers have four other tight ends on their offseason roster — Jaheim Bell, J.J. Galbreath, Lake McRee and Chamon Metayer. One or two of them could make the 53-man roster after the preseason. But none of them are going to threat Freiermuth or Washington for the top two tight end roles.
After Friday, the Steelers will resume their offseason workouts with mandatory minicamp from June 2-4. The team will wrap up offseason workouts on June 12.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth Opens up on Sharing TE Role With Darnell Washington appeared first on HEAVY.