Not quite as big but still massive, TE Darnell Washington aims for big season for Steelers

Darnell Washington knows this season is a big one for his career trajectory.

So he made himself smaller.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ massive tight end wasn’t quite so large when he showed up for organized team activities last month. Visibly more chiseled and lean than he’d been for his first two NFL seasons, the 6-foot-7 Washington said he trimmed 10-15 pounds from his end-of-season playing weight in January.

“This offseason, I took the first two weeks to just let my body recover,” Washington said last week. “And then when I went at it that first day trying to get back into that football shape, I was a little bit of, ‘Yeah, I kind of have to do things a little differently.’”

Approaching his age 24 season, Washington said he “100%, definitely” realized he couldn’t continue playing at the weight he’d been at since the Steelers drafted him in the third round in 2023. Though Washington has been officially listed at 264 pounds, it’s widely assumed Washington was up over 300.

“I didn’t want to come back (for the start of this season) how I did my rookie year,” Washington said, “(when) I wasn’t in the best shape on Day 1. I just didn’t want to repeat that.”

Make no mistake, Washington remains one of the biggest players on the Steelers’ roster and one of the biggest skill-position players in the NFL. And after playing roughly half of the Steelers’ offensive snaps over the course of his first two seasons, he recognizes that Year 3 is when teams make their determinations on whether a player is worthy of a longer-term, lucrative contract extension.

While Washington has been deployed often as a blocker, he strives to show a well-rounded, all-around game to earn that consideration from the Steelers come next spring.

“It’s always good to just improve year by year,” Washington said. “But after that third year, it’s a fourth year, and then everybody wants a new contract. So I feel like that’s how I will attack it and to be the best version of myself.”

Washington’s role and position on the depth chart clarified itself some via an unfortunate circumstance last week when veteran Donald Parham Jr. suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. At 6-8, Parham had the size to perhaps infringe on Washington’s projected duties.

Of course, the season remains three months away, and the Steelers have been linked to trades involving tight ends across the league. Washington recognizes he cannot rest on his laurels and maintain his spot on a tight ends depth chart that also includes TE1 Pat Freiermuth, versatile Connor Heyward and intriguing undrafted rookie J.J. Galbreath.

Washington said the heightened maturity regarding his weight has coincided with an overall further dedication to his craft.

“I was, like, rolling out (quickly after practices ended),” Washington said of his rookie and second NFL seasons. “I wasn’t getting massages. I’d just come in and do the work, (then) leave.

“So, now, I kind of want to stick around the facilities, do a little bit more with the quarterback after practice, or do some more recovery. Pretty much just moreso take care of my body in the long run.”

Perhaps it is in part because of the shedded weight, but Washington appears as if he’s moving around better this summer. Such a large man, he is looking more smooth.

Washington said he achieved the new body simply by cutting out liquid calories (adhering mostly to water) and processed foods.

Time will tell if it leads to an increased role in an offense called by coordinator Arthur Smith that in 2024 used multiple tight end sets more than any other team in the league. Washington was already trusted for his blocking — according to Pro Football Focus, only four NFL tight ends were asked to block for more snaps last season. But he could be aiming for more use as a receiver. Through two seasons, Washington has 26 catches and on 35 targets in 34 games.

“It’s about taking care of yourself,” Washington said. “The breaking down, the dropping the weight, everything like that. I feel like I’m not where I want to be, but slowly and surely I feel like I will towards camp. It’s about just keeping building and staying consistent to the schedule.”