The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo argued it’s a bad sign the Pittsburgh Steelers ran the ball well without tight end Pat Freiermuth playing much in Week 4.

By the quarter mark of the NFL season, teams generally start to determine their identifies. If that’s the case for the Pittsburgh Steelers this season, that could be a bad sign for veteran Pat Freiermuth.

That’s what The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo argued Tuesday after Freiermuth played just 15 offensive snaps in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings.

The 15 offensive snaps for Freiermuth set a new career low. Prior to Week 4, the tight end had never played fewer than 22 offensive snaps in an NFL game. He also had played fewer than 28 offensive snaps just once in his Steelers career.

“That was a very low snap total on Sunday for a starting TE, especially one you are paying $12 million annually,” wrote Fittipaldo.

But without Freiermuth playing much, the Steelers experienced their best offensive day on the ground. Fittipaldo argued that could mean more low snap count games for Freiermuth going forward.

I understand they went to big personnel with Spencer Anderson and Darnell Washington to get the run game going. It was very effective, which only leads to the question: will Freiermuth get squeezed out of snaps every week?” Fittipaldo wrote. “If that’s the only way to run the ball effectively, then that’s a problem.

I’m sure Freiermuth will be utilized more both as a blocker and a receiver, but there are some very real questions about his usage going forward after the success they had on the ground against the Vikings.

The Steelers ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 4.5 yards per carry versus Minnesota. In their first three contests, the Steelers posted 63 rushing yards per game and 2.8 yards per attempt.

Steelers’ Pat Freiermuth Sets Career Low in Snaps vs. Vikings
The Steelers drafted Freiermuth at No. 55 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft to be their all-everything tight end. Freiermuth has been a solid player over his four-plus seasons in Pittsburgh.

In two of his four seasons, he’s registered more than 60 catches and at least 650 receiving yards.

But some pundits are still waiting for Freiermuth to produce more as a pass-catcher. If healthy and with a more consistent quarterback, Freiermuth appeared to have star potential when he entered the league.

No big pass-catching breakout is happening, though, in 2025. Freiermuth only has seven catches and 65 receiving yards in four games this season.

Over the past two games, he has one catch on three targets for six yards. He didn’t have a target in Ireland against the Vikings.

But for Freiermuth to be more involved for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the tight end obviously has to get on the field.

“You have to be on the field to be targeted. We had this same discussion last week about Metcalf,” Fittipaldo wrote. “They finally decided they were going to make that a priority, and they got him more involved.

“Maybe all it takes is a concerted effort from Arthur Smith to make that happen. But as I noted above in response to the first question, if the Steelers have to play Anderson and Washington to run the ball effectively then that’s going to eat into Freiermuth’s snap counts.

Do Steelers Have New Tight End Pecking Order?
The Steelers have a loaded tight end room this season. Entering the fall, the thought was that Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington would see a dip in playing time compared to last season.

Instead, Freiermuth, Smith and Washington have pretty much split opportunities through four games.

Smith leads Steelers tight ends with 130 offensive snaps this season. Washington is second with 117 snaps while Freiermuth has 112.

With 112, Freiermuth has played less than half of Pittsburgh’s offensive snaps in 2025.

That’s surprising given that Freiermuth is the highest-paid tight end on the team’s roster. Freiermuth is the sixth highest-paid Steelers player this season.

But if the Steelers need extra beef with Washington and depth lineman Spencer Anderson to run the ball effectively, then it might be difficult for Freiermuth to earn playing time.

Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb