MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth was on a snap count in his return from his third concussion of the NFL career in his team’s 16-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night.
Freiermuth suffered this concussion in the Steelers’ Week 5 loss to the Buffalo Bills and sat out the team’s Week 6 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before making his return against the Dolphins. He also had two concussions as a rookie in 2021 and has concussion issues in his time at Penn State.
Freiermuth played less than his usual amount of snaps, especially early in the second half, but still had a very productive day.
He was targeted nine times by Kenny Pickett, catching eight for 75 yards, including a fourth-down conversion on the final drive of the game. The yardage output tied for his second-most of the season and the eight catches were a season high.
Freiermuth said he had no ill effects of the concussion during the game, but was frustrated by the lack of offensive production, with the team scoring just 10 points.
“I’m physically fine, but obviously I’m just disappointed in the loss,” Freiermuth said. “We’ve just got to figure out ways to get into the end zone.”
Zach Gentry and Connor Heyward filled in for Freiermuth against the Buccaneers and both had action on Sunday. Gentry caught two passes for no yards. Heyward had one for six.
While Freiermuth was on a snap count, and returning cornerback Cam Sutton (hamstring) also appeared to be limited, two players in the game were clearly not restricted in their returns from the concussion protocol: Miami quarterback Tua Tagovialoa and Steelers quarterback Kenny Pickett.
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