Steelers' Arthur Smith Reveals Ultimate Truth About Pat Freiermuth And Jonnu Smith

The Pittsburgh Steelers' offense has shown signs of being dynamic throughout the first four games of the 2025 season. A lot of moves were made throughout the offseason to ensure that the unit would be more capable than in years past. Aaron Rodgers decided against retirement, and signed a team-friendly one-year contract to give it a shot with the Black and Gold. Sitting at 3-1 after an early bye, the team is ready to finish the season with 13 straight games. It's still premature to label the offense one way or another, but it sure has a chance to put up points if the four-time MVP continues to play well.

The Steelers' offense has had both good and bad weeks; however, there has been one constant to begin the year and that is the absence of tight end Pat Freiermuth. Newly-acquired Jonnu Smith has not been too involved either, which has concerned fans a great deal. The duo is incredibly talented and could be used much more effectively as the season rolls along.

Pittsburgh has its first AFC North matchup of the campaign in Week 6, as the Cleveland Browns will travel to Acrisure Stadium. While the division rivals are on opposite ends of the standings, anything is possible when the two face off. It could finally be the week that Offensive Coordinator Arthur Smith decides to unleash his two dynamic tight ends.

The team's offensive play-caller spoke to the media leading up to the big contest, and via a team transcript, was transparent regarding why both Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith weren't utilized too much in Week 4 versus the Minnesota Vikings.

"Sometimes [it's] game to game," Smith said. "Jonnu and Pat's snaps were down [in Ireland]; they are valuable members. It's just the way the game went. It worked, but it doesn't mean it's going to work this week. We got a different challenge [against the Browns]."

The Steelers apparently saw something that the Vikings' defense put on tape which led to the coaching staff deciding against using the pass-catching tight ends an overwhelming amount. Both are making a very good chunk of money, so it is fair for the fan base to be a little concerned when their talents aren't being put to good use, regardless of what the opposition is showing defensively.

Jonnu Smith sat out a good bit of training camp, so it could have been expected that his ramp up would be a little slow with his new team, but it has been lack of usage regarding the returner in Freiermuth that has truly been baffling. The former second-round pick has actually played less than 50% of the offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Reference's snap counts.