Steelers Designate TE Pat Freiermuth to Return from IR, Open Practice Window

The Pittsburgh Steelers have designated tight end Pat Freiermuth to return from the injured reserve list and have opened the 21-day practice window for him to participate in practice while on IR., according to a report by Adam Schefter of ESPN.

Freiermuth appears to be on track to make his return to the lineup this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, and activating his practice window is the first step. It allows Freiermuth to practice this week while he remains on the injured reserve list.

In order for Freiermuth to play this Sunday in Cleveland, he will have to be reinstated from the injured reserve to the 53-man roster. The Steelers currently have two vacancies on that roster, after waiving nose tackle Breiden Fehoko and putting linebacker Kwon Alexander on IR earlier this week.

Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that he “feels good” about Freiermuth’s chances to return to action this week.

“I feel good about Pat Freiermuth and we’ll watch him go through the week and look at the quality of his work, how much of it and how he feels and let that be the determining factor,” Tomlin said. “I feel good about his potential availability.”

Those words echoed what Freiermuth said last week, when he said he planned to practice and hoped to be able to participate when the Steelers visit the Browns on Sunday.

“I’m not gonna jinx it this time,” he said last Wednesday after running off to the side while his teammates practiced.

#Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth ran off to the side during practice today. Appears to be nearing a return. pic.twitter.com/SPTXPYAvR7

— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) November 8, 2023

Freiermuth has eight catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns in four games this season. The third-year Penn State product had 63 grabs for 732 yards and two scores last season.

Since he’s been out, Connor Heyward has replaced Freiermuth as the team’s primary pass-catching tight end. He has 26 catches for 137 yards on the season.