Pat Freiermuth has developed into a focal point of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense, and a security blanket for rookie tight end Kenny Pickett.
But, the second-year tight end recently drew some high praise from his former quarterback, and one of the greatest tight ends to wear a Steelers uniform.
“Pat [Freiermuth] is a really good football player,” Roethlisberger told former Steelers tight end Heath Miller on the latest episode of the ‘Footballin with Ben Roethlisberger podcast’, “He reminds me a lot of you.”
Roethlisberger went on to recall a story of the night the Steelers chose Freitermuth No. 55 overall in the 2021 NFL Draft, when Bruce Arians reached out to sing the former Penn State Football standout’s praises.
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“I’m out to dinner with Ashley and my phone buzzes,” Roethlisberger said. “And it says ‘Pittsburgh Steelers draft Pat Freiermuth No. 55’ and I’m thinking to myself ‘Who is this guy?,’ and right after that [Arians] texted me and says ‘You’re going to love this guy, out of Penn State, he’s the closest thing to Heath Miller I’ve ever seen,’ and right then … I was done. Two guys I respect the most, Bruce Arians and Heath Miller.”
Freiermuth made a strong first impression on Roethlisberger, and the Steelers’ offense, catching 60 passes for 497 yards and seven touchdowns as a rookie, last season.
“He does have a lot of [Heath Miller] in him,” Roethlisberger said, of Freirmuth. “He’s team-first.”
