Steelers' Pat Freiermuth aggravates hamstring injury, won't play against Rams in Week 7, per report

Freiermuth was originally slated to return as soon as this weekend

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth was reportedly expected to miss 2-3 weeks with a hamstring injury he suffered in their Week 4 loss to the Houston Texans, but now, Kenny Pickett's security blanket is expected to miss even more time. 

Per NFL Media, Freiermuth aggravated his hamstring injury in practice on Thursday, and underwent an MRI on Friday morning. He will not play this Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, and his return to action has reportedly been put on hold.

Freiermuth, who turns 25 years old next week, missed the Steelers' Week 5 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, and then Pittsburgh had its bye week in Week 6. In four games played this season, Freiermuth has caught eight passes for 53 yards and two touchdowns. 

The Penn State product was CBS Sports' No. 7 tight end entering 2023 after catching 63 passes for a career-high 732 yards and two scores in 2022, but like Pittsburgh's offense as a whole, he has disappointed this season. Freiermuth caught three passes for 41 yards and a touchdown in the Week 3 win over the Las Vegas Raiders, but hasn't recorded more than seven receiving yards in any other contest. 

Tight ends Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward are expected to continue working in Freiermuth's absence. The Steelers offense currently ranks third-worst in the league in yards of total offense per game (268.2), and third-worst in points per game (16.5).