 Freiermuth with thePittsburgh Steelers in 2025 | |||||||||
| No. 88 – Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||||
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| Position | Tight end | ||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Born | (1998-10-25)October 25, 1998 (age 27) Merrimac, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||||
| Listed weight | 258 lb (117 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school | Brooks School(North Andover, Massachusetts) | ||||||||
| College | Penn State (2018–2020) | ||||||||
| NFL draft | 2021: 2nd round, 55th overall pick | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Awards and highlights | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||
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Patrick John Freiermuth (fryer-MOOTH; born October 25, 1998) is an American professionalfootballtight end for thePittsburgh Steelers of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for thePenn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Steelers in the second round of the2021 NFL draft.
A longtime resident ofMerrimac, Massachusetts, Freiermuth attendedPentucket Regional High School inWest Newbury, Massachusetts, before transferring to theBrooks School inNorth Andover, Massachusetts. At Brooks, he playedtight end andoutside linebacker on the football team, wearing jersey number eight. He also playedbasketball there as apower forward and asmall forward.[1] During his career, he had 1,531 total yards and 24 totaltouchdowns.[2] A four-star recruit, he committed toPenn State University to playcollege football.[3]
As a freshman for theNittany Lions in 2018, Freiermuth made nine starts and recorded 26 receptions for 368 yards and eighttouchdowns, breaking the record of most receiving touchdowns by a freshman tight end.[4][5][6] He remained the starter for the next two seasons, was voted Penn State Football's Most Valuable Offensive Player in 2019, and was invited to theNFL Scouting Combine a year earlier. Although rumor said he would jump at this, he declined this chance, and in a press conference with Coach James Franklin announced that he had planned to recommit to Penn State for yet another year.[7] He played in a total of 30 games there, and started all but four of them. He scored sixteen career touchdowns, tied for eighth place overall at Penn State for career touchdowns and first place by a tight end. In the end, he had a total of 92 career receptions, 1,185 career receiving yards, and he was named theBig Ten Conference'sKwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year in 2020, making him the first ever Penn State tight end to win this award.[8] He was also voted first-team All-Big Ten by the coaches, and finished the season leading the conference for most receiving yards by a tight end.[9]
| Season | Team | GP | Receiving | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | ||||
| 2018 | Penn State | 12 | 26 | 368 | 14.2 | 8 | |
| 2019 | Penn State | 13 | 43 | 507 | 11.8 | 7 | |
| 2020 | Penn State | 4 | 23 | 310 | 13.5 | 1 | |
| Career | 29 | 92 | 1,185 | 12.9 | 16 | ||
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 251 lb (114 kg) | 32+1⁄2 in (0.83 m) | 9+7⁄8 in (0.25 m) | |||||||||
| All values fromPro Day[10][11] | ||||||||||||
Freiermuth was selected in the second round (55th overall) of the2021 NFL draft by thePittsburgh Steelers to replace tight endVance McDonald, who retired after the 2020 season.[12] He signed a four-year rookie contract with Pittsburgh on May 25, 2021, and was assigned number 88, most famously worn byHall of Fame receiverLynn Swann. Freiermuth started his first NFL game in Week 1 against theBuffalo Bills and recorded his first career reception for 24 yards.[9] He caught his first professional touchdown pass on September 26, 2021, as the Steelers lost to theCincinnati Bengals when he caught a four yard pass fromBen Roethlisberger. On November 8, Freiermuth had one of his best game of the season, catching five passes on six targets for 43 yards and scoring two touchdowns as the Steelers defeated theChicago Bears 29–27. The following week against theDetroit Lions, Freiermuth caught five passes for 31 yards in the only tied game of his professional career with a final score of 16–16.[13]
During the season, Freiermuth sustained two concussions.[14] The first happened in Week 12 during a 41–10 loss to theCincinnati Bengals. The second concussion was sustained in a 19–13 win over theTennessee Titans in Week 15.[15][16] He finished the regular season with 60 receptions for 497 yards and seven touchdowns.[17]
On January 16, 2022, Freiermuth played in his first post-season game of his career against theKansas City Chiefs in the AFCWild Card Round of the 2021 playoffs. In the game, he caught four passes on five targets for 25 yards.[13]
During his rookie season, similar to former Steelers tight endHeath Miller, home crowds began chanting "Muth", an abbreviation of "Freiermuth", when he would gain yardage or score a touchdown.[18]
In the 2022 season, Freiermuth played in 16 regular season games, starting eight of them. Freiermuth finished the 2022 season catching 63 passes on 98 targets for 732 yards, the most of his professional career as of August 2024. He scored two touchdowns across all 16 games.[19]
On October 21, 2023, Freiermuth was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.[20] He was activated on November 18.[21] He would return to the team on November 19 against theCleveland Browns.
Freiermuth had his statistically best game of the season on November 26 against theCincinnati Bengals. He caught nine passes on 11 targets for 120 yards, the only game of the season in which he was able to eclipse 100+ receiving yards.[22]
He finished the 2023 regular season making 32 catches on 47 targets for 308 yards and two touchdowns, playing in 12 games and starting nine of them.[23]
In the second post season appearance of his professional career, Freiermuth caught five passes on eight targets for 76 yards in the AFCWild Card Round against theBuffalo Bills. During the final minutes of the first quarter, Freiermuth caught a pass from quarterbackMason Rudolph before taking off down the sideline. He was tackled by Bills cornerbackChristian Benford causing the ball to come loose before being recovered by linebackerBaylon Spector. Replay officials determined the fumble had rolledout of bounds due to the ball making contact with Freiermuth as he exited the field of play, giving possession back to the Steelers.[24] The game ended with the Steelers losing 31–17.[25]
On September 6, 2024, Freiermuth signed a four-year, $48.4 million contract extension with the Steelers, keeping him with the team through the 2028 season.[26] He caught his first touchdown pass of the season on an eight yard pass fromJustin Fields during Week 4's 27–24 Steelers loss to theIndianapolis Colts.[27][28]
In the final moments of Week 5's loss to the Cowboys, the Steelers needed to score a field goal to tie the game with less than ten seconds remaining. Moving downfield to get the ball into field goal range, Steelers receiverGeorge Pickens caught a pass before stopping momentarily and lateraling the ball toIsaac Seumalo. After a series of lateral passes, Freiermuth caught the final pass from Fields before attempting to lateral back toMason McCormick. The pass fell short of McCormick, being ruled a fumble, which was recovered by the Cowboys as time expired.[29]
Freiermuth ended the regular season having appeared in all 17 games making 65 receptions for 653 yards, seven touchdowns as the Steelers finished with a record of 10–7.[30] This gave Freiermuth the third playoff berth of his career as the Steelers entered as the sixth seeded team in theplayoffs. During the AFC wildcard playoff game against theBaltimore Ravens, Freiermuth made three catches for 15 yards as the Steelers lost 28–14, ending their season.
With the acquisition ofJonnu Smith from theMiami Dolphins in June 2025, Freiermuth and Smith both shared the tight end one spot on the official depth chart released on August 5.[31] He made his first start of the season in Week 1's 34–32 win over theNew York Jets. During the game, he made three catches on three targets for 23 yards.[32] On October 16's Thursday Night Football loss to theCincinnati Bengals atPaycor Stadium, Freiermuth caught his first touchdown pass of the season on a 19 yard reception from quarterbackAaron Rodgers.[33] He finished his first prime time outing of the season as Pittsburgh's leading receiver, catching four passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns.[34] This was also Freiermuth's first game since November 8, 2021 in which he caught multiple touchdown passes in a single game.[13]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2021 | PIT | 16 | 9 | 60 | 497 | 8.3 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 2022 | PIT | 16 | 8 | 63 | 732 | 11.6 | 57 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | PIT | 12 | 9 | 32 | 308 | 9.6 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | PIT | 17 | 11 | 65 | 653 | 10.0 | 30 | 7 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | PIT | 15 | 6 | 35 | 372 | 10.6 | 68 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 76 | 43 | 255 | 2,562 | 10.0 | 68 | 22 | 4 | 2 | |
| Year | Team | Games | Receiving | Fumbles | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Rec | Yds | Y/R | Lng | TD | Fum | Lost | ||
| 2021 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 4 | 25 | 6.3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | PIT | 1 | 0 | 5 | 76 | 15.2 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2024 | PIT | 1 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 3 | 2 | 12 | 116 | 9.7 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Freiermuth's uncle,Michael Foley, was a longtime college football coach, most recently as the offensive line coach forUMass.[35] His father, John Freiermuth, played basketball at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire[9] and in 1988 he was named New Hampshire's "Mr. Basketball."[36] His mom is a history teacher and former coach (fifteen seasons) for North Andover High School field hockey.[citation needed] She retired from coaching in 2007 after leading her team to two North sectional titles and a 147–85–66 record.[37] She was also president of the Penn State Football Parents Association.[7] His brother Tim played offensive line forSpringfield College and is currently a high school football coach.[9][38]
Media related toPat Freiermuth at Wikimedia Commons