Fittipaldo: Steelers Absolutely Need To Prioritize A New Deal For Pat Freiermuth In 2024 Offseason

The Pittsburgh Steelers enter the 2024 offseason with a full plate of business to do after falling short of their ultimate goal of a championship in 2023. The team managed to reach the playoffs after it looked like a nearly impossible task, but dropped the ball with a 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Wild Card Round. One reporter said that once the team has decided what to do with a fifth-year option for running back Najee Harris, their next priority needs to be a contact extension for tight end Pat Freiermuth. 

Ray Fittipaldo is a beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and he said on a recent edition of the North Shore Drive Podcast that he thinks Pittsburgh getting its number-one tight end extended is a top focus for the team in the early days of the offseason. The Penn State product will be in the last year of his rookie deal in 2024 and become an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason, barring a new contract. 

"After that [Najee's fifth-year option], I see Freiermuth as the biggest offseason priority," Fittipaldo explained. "They don't have a lot of big-name free agents. Unfortunately for Freiermuth, he didn't have the year where he could maybe max out and get a big tight-end contract, but I still think he's worth it."  

Freiermuth missed five weeks with injuries in the 2023 season and was still the most productive tight end on the roster. His 308 yards receiving on 37 receptions placed him fourth on the team in 2023. The other tight ends, Connor Heyward and Darnell Washington, combined for 228 yards on 30 catches. Heyward and Washington are very different players than Freiermuth, and both have their place on the roster, but the Penn State alum is the team's biggest receiving threat. 

As Fittipaldo pointed out, with his down season, Freiermuth likely walked himself out of getting paid in the range of the game's top tight ends, but he should still be able to land a decent pay raise from his rookie contact. He thinks that something in the range of $11 to $12 million a year should get the job done. 

He noted that Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin called Freiermuth an important leader on the team in his postseason press conference and that Pittsburgh loves to develop and showcase players that they drafted. He thinks both of those facts help his case garnering an extension from the team. 

Steelers Need To Get More Use Out Of Freiermuth To Justify A Big Extension 

Fittipaldo said that while many fans want to see what Kenny Pickett can do with a fresh face at the offensive coordinator spot for 2024, he's more interested in whether a fresh voice can help get their tight end to greater heights. The veteran scribe was critical of Freiermuth's lack of usage before his injury knocked him out for Weeks 5 through 10, with the Steelers' bye week sprinkled in there.

Fittipaldo said that watching the Divisional playoff games with tight ends across the league (like Sam LaPorta with the Detroit Lions or George Kittle with the San Francisco 49ers), have big games underscores the need for Pittsburgh to get more out of their 2021 second-round selection. 

"We can talk about every single tight end and how the middle of the field was utilized by those offensive coordinators and those quarterbacks. I'm kind of intrigued about what Freiermuth can do with an offensive coordinator who knows how to attack the middle of the field and a quarterback, who is maybe a year older and wiser and is maybe better to get him involved in the offense. I still think there's a lot of potential to tap there." 

The number one thing for Freiermuth will be his health. He's struggled mightily to stay on the field in his first three seasons in Pittsburgh. There's plenty to like, but having a breakout season will require him to stay healthy.