PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He was supposed to be one of the big players coming back to help the offense, however tight end Pat Freiermuth re-injured his hamstring and will not return against the Rams. He will not return for a long time, placed on injured reserve Saturday morning. Once again, the Steelers have to rely on first-and-second-year players.
Freiermuth played the first four games, targeted 13 times, eight receptions for 53 yards and a pair of touchdowns. But he was going to be healthy again and as teams focused more on George Pickens and potentially Diontae Johnson, Freiermuth was going to play a bigger role in the offense.
Now the team returns to tight end/fullback Connor Heyward, rookie Darnell Washington and Rodney Williams remains up off the practice squad.
"Me and Darnell need to be ready to step up and when Rodney's opportunity comes he needs to be ready to step up as well," Heyward said after the last practice Friday. "I feel like we are all prepared. Last game, I played 37 snaps on offense, Darnell played a good bit as well. It was good for us to prep that, have this bye week and make the most of our opportunities."
Heyward has five receptions on 10 targets this year for 42 yards. He says while he'll also play a fullback role, he runs similar pass patterns to Freiermuth. He believes he can be effective in the passing game. Last season he caught 12 passes for 151 yards (12.6 average) and a touchdown. His senior season at Michigan State 35 receptions, 326 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
A rookie who has been dealing with an annoying knee issue over the span of the season, Washington is ready for more run. Only one catch for 10 yards in his NFL career, which was lost in the blowout loss in Houston. He played a career-high 70% of the offensive snaps filling in for Freiermuth against the Ravens.
Washington was self-critical of his play his first couple of games. Saying he wasn't doing what he needed. His footwork was off and he didn't have the offense down like was required to play more. He doesn't have a choice now.
"He's come extremely far with the little details that the coaches harp on," Heyward said of Washington. "As a rookie, they are always going to ride you a little bit harder. He went to Georgia, he was coached hard. He's just ready to rise to the occasion, keep climbing and take those baby steps each week."
Every week is an opportunity and while he 6'7" tight end averaged 17.2 yards-per-catch over his three-year career with the Bulldogs, he never was the marquis guy with his college team. Even though they drafted him, Washington believes the Steelers are just starting to figure out what he can do.
"It takes time for an OC to get to know their players," Washington said. "I came in as a rookie. You could go based on college highlights or film, that's not always the case. He's still learning me and my abilities."
Freiermuth has guided Washington's improvement, now it's time for him to step up and the coaches to trust him to help this offense take a step forward coming out of the bye week Sunday in Los Angeles.
