{"id":759092,"date":"2026-02-17T22:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/759092\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T22:00:45","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T22:00:45","slug":"steelers-suddenly-face-massive-problem-involving-pat-freiermuth-as-trade-talk-looms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/759092\/","title":{"rendered":"Steelers Suddenly Face Massive Problem Involving Pat Freiermuth As Trade Talk Looms"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Steelers made the decision to draft tight end Pat Freiermuth<\/a> in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft with the expectation that he would become a long-term pillar of the offense. In his rookie season, Freiermuth had the luxury of catching passes from Ben Roethlisberger\u00a0<\/a>and quickly justified the pick with a productive and reliable first year. He flashed strong hands, red zone presence, and a clear chemistry with a veteran quarterback who trusted him in very big moments.<\/p>\n

\"Steelers'<\/p>\n

Karl Roser \/ Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n

Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers celebrates after throwing a touchdown to tight end Pat Freiermuth during a professional football game in 2025.<\/p>\n

The talent has never been in question for Freiermuth, but the opportunity has been far less consistent. Ongoing quarterback uncertainty in Pittsburgh has stalled his growth and limited his overall impact, even as his role has remained important within the offense. Many believed that would finally change heading into the 2025 season with Aaron Rodgers<\/a> expected to stabilize the position.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Instead, the offense never took the leap some anticipated, and Freiermuth\u2019s usage and production failed to meaningfully improve. Now, Freiermuth\u2019s name is popping up more frequently in trade conversations around the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n

NFL analyst Gregg Rosenthal\u00a0recently discussed the situation on<\/a> his podcast, outlining why he believes the Steelers could seriously consider moving Freiermuth before the 2026 season begins. With roster construction, offensive<\/a> direction, and long-term planning all in play under the new regime with Mike McCarthy<\/a> at the helm, Pittsburgh may be approaching a pivotal decision that few fans expected to be on the table.<\/p>\n

“Pat Freiermuth, they barely played him last year,” Rosenthal said while speaking on his NFL Daily podcast. “He\u2019s due $9.1 million in total compensation this season. He has an extremely tradeable contract. Maybe Mike McCarthy has a different vision for him. That could absolutely happen.”<\/p>\n

Things in the Steel City are already much different now that Mike Tomlin<\/a> is no longer in town. The Steelers are expected to move on from tight end Jonnu Smith<\/a>, while Darnell Washington<\/a> is recovering from a season-ending injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Steelers<\/p>\n

Jordan Schofield \/ SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)<\/p>\n

Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth looks on during training camp in Latrobe, PA.<\/p>\n

The idea of trading Freiermuth now is an interesting one, and Rosenthal believes there is a market for him as well.<\/p>\n

“He didn\u2019t seem to fit with Rodgers for whatever reason, and I actually think he would have a market,” Rosenthal said. “He seems like one that stands out to me because he\u2019s in the middle of his prime. He\u2019s a solid player, but maybe he\u2019s not a fit there anymore.”<\/p>\n

The expectations for Freiermuth in the 2025 season were extremely high with Rodgers in town. The Steelers had three tight ends, all splitting the target share, but many could not understand why Freiermuth was not getting more looks, especially because in critical moments during big games, he was targeted and often came through with clutch plays.<\/p>\n

Steelers’ McCarthy Should Be Able To Unlock Freiermuth Nicely<\/p>\n

Now it will be interesting to see how McCarthy plans to utilize Freiermuth as well as the other players on the roster. If he does not view Freiermuth as part of the long-term plans for the offense, that could open the door for a possible trade. However, McCarthy has historically favored using three starting wide receivers and one tight end. Freiermuth would be a perfect fit in his typical offensive schemes based on his prior philosophies.<\/p>\n

\"Steelers<\/p>\n

Jordan Schofield \/ SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)<\/p>\n

Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth (88) walks on the field with his helmet off while the team warms up prior to going through a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.<\/p>\n

Steeler Nation would love to see Freiermuth fulfill his potential in the Steel City, but trade talks are heating up once again around the talented 27-year-old tight end, who has scored 22 touchdowns and caught 261 passes for 2,676 receiving yards in 78 games in his NFL career.<\/p>\n

Please feel free to share your Steelers takes and thoughts with me on X (@anthonyghalkias<\/a>) and consider following for more Steelers-related content and discussion. I read and respond.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pittsburgh Steelers made the decision to draft tight end Pat Freiermuth in the second round of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":759093,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[1586,6594,457,198,7,2394,7581,7470,7866,1255,6,9073,57,426,2395,691],"class_list":{"0":"post-759092","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-aaron-rodgers","9":"tag-ben-roethlisberger","10":"tag-darnell-washington","11":"tag-featured","12":"tag-football","13":"tag-forum","14":"tag-gregg-rosenthal","15":"tag-jonnu-smith","16":"tag-mike-mccarthy","17":"tag-mike-tomlin","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-pat-freiermuth","20":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","21":"tag-steelers","22":"tag-steelers-news","23":"tag-trending"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116088225236292864","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759092"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759092\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/759093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}