Pat Freiermuth went down in pain with a knee injury in the season finale, but the latest Steelers news should have fans feeling encouraged early in 2023.
Despite Pittsburgh’s best efforts in a comfortable win during their final game of the season, the Steelers did not make the playoffs this year. Falling short of a playoff berth is one thing, but a potentially very serious knee injury to Pat Freiermuth in a game that proved to be meaningless is another.
After already dealing with shattered playoff hopes, fans and players had Freiermuth in the back of their minds. During the second half of the Browns game in Pittsburgh’s season finale, the second-year tight end went down holding his left knee. Eventually, he was aided off the field by two men.
Based on the amount of pain he clearly displayed and the fact that he could not walk off the field under his own power, Steelers fans rightfully feared the worst. Some speculated that it was an ACL tear for Freiermuth. Fortunately, we all received some excellent news.
On Monday, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette confirmed that Freiermuth had not suffered a tear. Rather, it’s being labeled as an MCL/ACL sprain.
Good news for TE Pat Freiermuth: He has MCL/ACL sprain but does not need surgery.
— Gerry Dulac (@gerrydulac) January 9, 2023
Steelers fans can rejoice about Pat Freiermuth news
This is probably the best news fans could have gotten, considering how grim things looked at the time. While Freiermuth will still spend some time rehabbing, this injury will not require surgery. By avoiding a dreaded tear, Freiermuth should be able to get back on track much sooner. An ACL tear during the final game of the season could have meant that he wouldn’t be ready to go for the start of the 2023 season.
Obviously, Freiermuth was a staple to this offense in 2022. He finished the season as the seventh-highest-rated tight end in the NFL, via Pro Football Focus. At one point, he trailed only the great Travis Kelce, but his production dipped late in the year.
Freiermuth missed time with a concussion early in the season, but he still managed to be one of the best and most consistent players on Pittsburgh’s offense this year. Freiermuth turned 24 years old in October, and the future looks incredibly bright. The young tight end finished the year with 63 catches for 732 yards and 2 touchdowns, per ESPN stats.
After stomaching the fact that the Steelers just missed the playoffs, fans can be grateful that we won’t have to worry about a major knee injury to Pat Freiermuth that would linger on through training camp and even the beginning of the season. This was the best news we could have heard today.