Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth leaves game with knee injury

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth suffered a knee injury during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s win against the Cleveland Browns and did not return.

Sunday’s game — a 28-14 victory — concluded the Steelers’ season, so the seriousness of Freiermuth’s injury perhaps is less relevant than if the team had qualified for the playoffs. After the game, coach Mike Tomlin did not provide any clarity, saying only that Freiermuth was “being evaluated.”

Freiermuth lied on the grass for several moments after sustaining his injury, and was limping markedly as he was being helped off the field. It did not take long for the Steelers to announce that Freiermuth would not return to the game.

“It was real tough,” rookie tight end Connor Heyward said of watching Freiermuth leave the field. “We don’t know what happened, but hopefully he’s OK and hopefully he bounces back. But we are behind him, and if it was one of us he would be behind us as well.”

Freiermuth was held without a catch for what was only the second time in 32 career games. A Pro Bowl alternate, he finished 2022 with 63 catches for 732 yards — both figures ranked sixth in the NFL among tight ends heading into Week 18. Only Heath Miller had topped either of those figures in a single season by a Steelers’ tight end (three times Miller had more receptions, four times he had more yards).

Freiermuth missed the Oct. 16 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of NFL concussion protocol.

The only other player to leave Sunday’s regular-season finale because of injury was receiver Gunner Olszewski, who also suffered a knee injury and did not play during the fourth quarter.

Tomlin’s season wrap-up news conference is scheduled for Monday.

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