Pat Freiermuth
 Freiermuth with the Steelers in 2021 | |||||||
| No. 88 – Pittsburgh Steelers | |||||||
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| Position: | Tight end | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | October 25, 1998 Merrimac, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 258 lb (117 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Brooks School (North Andover, Massachusetts) | ||||||
| College: | Penn State (2018–2020) | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2021 / Round: 2 / Pick: 55 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 2023 | |||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||
Patrick John Freiermuth (born October 25, 1998) is an American professional football tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Penn State and was selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Early life
[edit]A longtime resident of Merrimac, Massachusetts, Freiermuth attended Pentucket Regional High School in West Newbury, Massachusetts, before transferring to the Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts. At Brooks, he played tight end and outside linebacker on the football team, wearing jersey number eight. He also played basketball there as a power forward and a small forward.[1] During his career, he had 1,531 total yards and 24 total touchdowns.[2] He committed to Penn State University to play college football.[3]
College career
[edit]As a freshman for the Nittany Lions in 2018, Freiermuth made nine starts and recorded 26 receptions for 368 yards and eight touchdowns, 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 the NFL Draft 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 the Big Ten Conference's Kwalick–Clark Tight End of the Year in 2020, making him the first ever Penn State tight end to win this award. 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.[8]
College statistics
[edit]| 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 | |
| [1] Career | 29 | 92 | 1,185 | 12.9 | 16 | ||
Professional career
[edit]| 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 from Pro Day[9][10] | ||||||||||||
2021 season
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Freiermuth was selected in the second round (55th overall) of the 2021 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers to replace tight end Vance McDonald, who retired after the 2020 season.[11] He signed a four-year rookie contract with Pittsburgh on May 25, 2021. Freiermuth started his first NFL game in Week 1 against the Buffalo Bills and recorded his first career reception for 24 yards.[8] During the season, Freiermuth sustained two concussions.[12] The first happened in Week 12 during a 41–10 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The second concussion was sustained in a 19–13 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 15.[13][14] He finished the regular season with 60 receptions for 497 yards and seven touchdowns.[15]
On January 16, 2022, Freiermuth played in his first post-season game of his career against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wildcard round of the 2021 playoffs. In the game, he caught four passes on five targets for 25 yards.[16]
During his rookie season, similar to former Steelers tight end Heath Miller, home crowds began chanting "Muth", an abbreviation of "Freiermuth", when he would gain yardage or score a touchdown.[17]
2022 season
[edit]In 2022, Freiermuth would play in 16 regular season games, starting eight of them.
During Week 1 against division rivals the Cincinnati Bengals, Freiermuth would catch five passes for 75 yards in the 23-20 Steelers victory. The following week against the New England Patriots, he would score his first touchdown of the season with an 18 yard pass from Mitchell Trubisky.[18] He would catch his second and final touchdown of the season during the December 11 game against another division rival the Baltimore Ravens when he caught a 10 yard pass from Trubisky.[19]
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.[20]
2023 season
[edit]
During Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, Freiermuth scored the only Steelers touchdown of the game with a three yard reception from Kenny Pickett.[21] He would catch another touchdown, his final one on the season, in Week 3 against the Las Vegas Raiders on a 13 yard pass from Pickett.
On October 21, 2023, Freiermuth was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.[22] He was activated on November 18.[23] He would return to the team on November 19 against the Cleveland Browns where he would catch one pass for seven yards.
Freiermuth had his statistically best game of the season on November 26 against the Cincinnati 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.[24]
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.
In the second post season appearance of his professional career, Freiermuth caught five passes on eight targets for 76 yards in the AFC Wild Card round against the Buffalo Bills. During the final minutes of the first quarter, Freiermuth caught a pass from quarterback Mason Rudolph before taking off down the sideline. He was tackled by Bills cornerback Christian Benford causing the ball to come loose before being recovered by linebacker Baylon Spector. Replay officials determined the fumble had rolled out of bounds due to the ball making contact with Freiermuth as he exited the field of play, giving possession back to the Steelers.[25] The game ended with the Steelers losing 17-31.
NFL career statistics
[edit]| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
[edit]| 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 |
| Career | 44 | 26 | 155 | 1,537 | 9.9 | 57 | 11 | 1 | 1 | |
Postseason
[edit]| 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 |
| Career | 2 | 1 | 9 | 101 | 11.2 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Personal life
[edit]Freiermuth's uncle, Michael Foley, is the offensive line coach for the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. Prior to this, he was head football coach at Colgate University. His father, John Freiermuth, played basketball at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire[8] and in 1988 he was named New Hampshire's "Mr. Basketball."[26] 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.[27] She was also president of the Penn State Football Parents Association.[7] Tim Freiermuth, Patrick's brother, was an offensive lineman for Springfield College in Massachusetts.[8]
References
[edit]- ^ Snyder, Audrey. "The extra development that allowed Pat Freiermuth to quickly..." The Athletic.
- ^ Freiermuth’s head coach at Brooks was his cousin, Pat Foley. ‘Excellence and humility’: How Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth became a local legend
- ^ "Brooks' Pat Freiermuth commits to Penn State". ESPN.com. August 16, 2016.
- ^ Juliano, Joe (April 2, 2019). "Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth surpassed his own first-year expectations". www.inquirer.com.
- ^ Wogenrich, Mark (August 25, 2019). "Pat Freiermuth is Penn State's next great tight end". mcall.com.
- ^ "Penn State tight end Pat Freiermuth is a big catch".
- ^ a b Wogenrich, Mark (October 2, 2020). "What Staying at Penn State Means to Pat Freiermuth". Sports Illustrated Penn State Nittany Lions News, Analysis and More. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Pat Freiermuth (TE): Bio, News, Stats & more". www.steelers.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth, Penn State, TE, 2021 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
- ^ "Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth makes it clear he hates his nickname". Steelers Wire. May 14, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth – Injury History". www.draftsharks.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "2021 Pittsburgh Steelers Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ Smith, Michael David (December 19, 2021). "Steelers lose Pat Freiermuth after hard hit to head". ProFootballTalk. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth Stats, News, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth 2021 Game Log".
- ^ "Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth reveals what pumps him up post-catch". January 21, 2022.
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth 2022 Game Log".
- ^ "Ravens 16-14 Steelers (Dec 11, 2022) Box Score".
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth Career Stats (Scrimmage)".
- ^ "49ers 30-7 Steelers (Sep 10, 2023) Box Score".
- ^ Varley, Teresa (October 21, 2023). "Steelers activate Johnson, make other moves". Steelers.com.
- ^ Varley, Teresa (November 18, 2023). "Steelers make roster moves ahead of Sunday's game". Steelers.com. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth 2023 Game Log".
- ^ "Pat Freiermuth fumble: Bills out of challenges after controversial call in wild-card game vs. Steelers | Sporting News". January 15, 2024.
- ^ "Second Round: Pat Freiermuth". www.steelers.com. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
- ^ "Coach's Corner: Dianne Freiermuth". rallynorth.net. Retrieved March 4, 2022.