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Pat Freiermuth injury: status, history and who gets his targets if he is out

Pittsburgh Steelers · Tight end · status this week: not on the week 7 injury report (week 7 report, captured Wed 21 Oct, 6:15am)

Checked Oct 21, 2026.

Over his 5 full seasons on record, Pat Freiermuth played 78 of 85 regular-season games (92%), and 6 of 6 so far in 2026. Season by season.

The Pittsburgh Steelers room absorbs +1.86 receptions, and Robert Tonyan takes the largest single share at +0.76. The work stays overwhelmingly inside the tight end room.

Where the work goes

Change in projected receptions for every other player in the offense. The bars are small on purpose — a vacated role is shared out, and any tool showing one replacement absorbing a whole target load is telling you something the data does not support.

Receptions gained if Pat Freiermuth sitsRobert Tonyan+0.8TE 6% snapsDarnell Washington+0.5TE 67% snapsDK Metcalf+0.1WR 95% snapsGermie Bernard+0.1WR 66% snapsMichael Pittman+0.1WR 72% snapsRoman Wilson+0.1WR 46% snapsBrandon Johnson+0.1WR 4% snapsBrandon Smith+0.1WR 40% snapsBen Skowronek+0.1WR 14% snapsKaden Wetjen+0.1WR 0% snapschange in projected receptions

Every player in the room

PlayerCatches nowIf he sitsChange
Pat Freiermuth TE · 68% snaps3.00—OUT
DK Metcalf WR · 95% snaps5.005.07+0.07
Germie Bernard WR · 66% snaps4.804.87+0.07
Jaylen Warren RB · 84% snaps3.303.30+0.00
Michael Pittman WR · 72% snaps3.003.07+0.07
Darnell Washington TE · 67% snaps2.402.94+0.54
Rico Dowdle RB · 26% snaps1.701.70+0.00
Roman Wilson WR · 46% snaps1.101.17+0.07
Brandon Johnson WR · 4% snaps0.800.87+0.07
Brandon Smith WR · 40% snaps0.600.67+0.07
Eli Heidenreich RB · 0% snaps0.500.50+0.00
Ben Skowronek WR · 14% snaps0.400.47+0.07
Kaden Wetjen WR · 0% snaps0.200.27+0.07
Robert Tonyan TE · 6% snaps0.200.96+0.76

Injury history

Over his 5 full seasons on record, Pat Freiermuth played 78 of 85 regular-season games (92%), and 6 of 6 so far in 2026.

SeasonTeamPlayedMissedListed outQuestionableInjuries listed
2026PIT6 of 6001Calf
2025PIT17 of 17000—
2024PIT17 of 17000—
2023PIT12 of 17521Hamstring
2022PIT16 of 17110Concussion
2021PIT16 of 17110Concussion

Regular season only. Games played counts games with at least one offensive snap; designations are from the official weekly injury report, which does not list players on injured reserve, so a long absence shows as missed games rather than as weeks listed out.

What the data says happens

Measured across every regular-season game from 2018 onward, each beneficiary compared against his own trailing four-game form and net of what the same players do in weeks the room’s number one actually plays.

When a team’s number-one tight end does not play, what each position group gains:

RoomReceptions gainednt
Receivers+0.1072,1602.29
Tight ends+0.4921,0249.57
Backs-0.0451,259-0.92

The room total is predictable. Which player takes it is not. Every candidate predictor of who gains — pecking order, snap share, route depth, trailing targets — correlates at roughly r = 0.02. In any single week one player usually takes about 60% of what was vacated; it is simply not predictably the same one.

Pat Freiermuth’s full stats and usageSnap share, target share, game log and this week’s projection

Cascade effects 2018–2026, paired within player, net of control · projections as-of-week with no lookahead · 2026 week 7