ST.After an underwhelming season, Pat Freiermuth speaks out about his frustrations and hopes for a bigger role in the future

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth wished he made more of an impact with the Steelers during the 2025 season. Shortly after the Steelers lost to the Houston Texans in the wild-card round of the playoffs, Freiermuth detailed his frustration with the Steelers’ offense.

“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, per Chris Ward of SteelersNow. Freiermuth finished the year with 41 catches for 486 yards and four touchdowns. The 27-year-old played in more than 50 percent of the snaps and split time with Darnell Washington (53 percent of snaps) and Jonnu Smith (52 percent). Freiermuth had the upper hand on Washington and Smith when it came to receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.

Moving forward, Pat Freiermuth wants to be more involved in the Steelers’ offense. “It’s always about the team and what we can do to win,” Freiermuth said. “I feel like I could have been in situations where I could help the team win more. But the longer I’m here, I would like to see myself involved more.”

Pat Freiermuth reveals another thing that is ‘frustrating’

The Steelers selected Freiermuth in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft. His best season was in 2022 when he caught 63 passes for 732 yards and two touchdowns on 98 targets. It was the only time in Freiermuth’s career that he had been targeted over 80 times.

It will be interesting to see how the Steelers use Freiermuth as the coaching staff will be different since Mike Tomlin has stepped down has head coach. Arthur Smith was the Steelers’ offensive coordinator for the last two seasons, but he is currently interviewing with different teams for the same position.

Another thing to watch for is the quarterback position. Aaron Rodgers will be a free agent in March, meaning it’s possible the Steelers could have a new starting QB in 2026.

“Pretty tough, especially as a pass-catcher,” Freiermuth said about possibly having a new quarterback next season. “I think it’s going to be 10 quarterbacks in six years. It’s pretty frustrating.”

As Mike Vrabel and the Patriots’ staff were deciding who would back up Drake Maye this past offseason, the group looked at free-agent quarterback Jarrett Stidham. Nearly 10 months later, Stidham – who ultimately re-signed with the Denver Broncos – will be under center Sunday against the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

Stidham will start the AFC Championship game for injured Bo Nix.

As Mike Vrabel and the Patriots’ staff were deciding who would back up Drake Maye this past offseason, the group looked at free-agent quarterback Jarrett Stidham.

Nearly 10 months later, Stidham — who ultimately re-signed with the Denver Broncos — will be under center Sunday against the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

“It was kind of ironic, just speaking with his agent. They’re like, ‘Well, if you don’t want your starter to get hurt, sign Jarrett.’ That was before yesterday or two days ago,” Vrabel said.

Stidham will be thrust into action after Denver starter Bo Nix suffered an ankle fracture in the Broncos’ divisional-round victory last weekend.

Stidham played just four snaps for Denver this season and has not thrown a pass in game since Jan. 7, 2024. When he takes the field Sunday, it will mark 749 days since his last pass attempt — more than double the longest gap between attempts for a quarterback starting a playoff game since 1950.

Still, the Patriots are expecting the best from the 29-year old, who was originally drafted by New England back in 2019 before following Josh McDaniels to the Las Vegas Raiders in 2022.

“Just going back to when Josh had him and playing against that,” said Vrabel, “I think he sees things really well. I think he’s athletic enough to extend, like we talk about a lot of quarterbacks. Accuracy. I think the decision-making – he’s really decisive in the games that we went back and watched. This is even going back to when I was in Tennessee as well.”

“Sean [Payton], he gets his guys ready to go,” linebacker Christian Elliss added. “Honestly, whoever’s at the helm, they’re going to be ready to play and they’re going to be a challenge in themselves. Everyone’s in this league for a reason. From my experience and from watching them, Sean has been just a really good coach at getting them prepared and getting them in the right state of mind.”

Broncos head coach Sean Payton is clearly a fan of his backup. In Payton’s first year in Denver, he signed Stidham away from Las Vegas on the first day of free agency. This past offseason, Stidham’s extension made him the highest-paid backup quarterback in the league at the time of signing.

“Stiddy’s ready, and we’ll be ready for the next challenge,” Payton said after announcing Nix’s injury. “I’ve said this at the beginning of the season, I feel like I have a [No.] 2 [quarterback] that’s capable of starting for a handful of — a number of teams. I know he feels the same way. So watch out. Just watch.”