Contrary to what the statistics suggest, the tight end remains a viable part of the Pittsburgh Steelers passing game.

It just hasn’t looked that way without Pat Freiermuth in the lineup.

With Freiermuth potentially returning from injured reserve Sunday in Cleveland, the Steelers will have all of their offensive playmaking pieces in place for the first time since the season opener.

“We’d love to get him back this weekend,” quarterback Kenny Pickett said Wednesday. “It’s another aspect that defenses have to respect, him working the middle and doing different things for us. It will help having him back.”

Considering the production of the tight ends in Freiermuth’s absence, it couldn’t hurt.

In the five games Freiermuth missed with a hamstring injury, replacements Connor Heyward and rookie Darnell Washington combined for 20 catches for 160 yards and zero touchdowns. To put that into perspective, Kansas City Chiefs star tight end Travis Kelce has enjoyed a 179-yard receiving game this season.

Even counting Freiermuth’s eight catches, 53 yards and two touchdowns, the Steelers still rank No. 29 in the league with 28 receptions by their tight ends. Their 213 receiving yards rank No. 30.

While waiting for his hamstring to heal, Freiermuth could only watch and wait and wonder if he might have made a difference for a passing game that has averaged just 180 yards through nine weeks.

“You always think that,” he said. “If I’m out there, maybe this would have happened, but the offense did a good job. The tight ends held it down. Hopefully, we can take the next step into late November and December football.”

Thanks to a resurgent running game, which has been aided by the blocking of Washington, the Steelers take a 6-3 record into their game against the 6-3 Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

Freiermuth first must get clearance before he can return. He was on track to come back a month ago before aggravating his hamstring injury in practice, necessitating his trip to injured reserve. Freiermuth was a limited participant in practice Wednesday but said he is on track to suit up against the Browns.

“This is the longest I’ve missed,” said Freiermuth, who sat out three games at Penn State because of a shoulder injury in 2020. “Six weeks, five games — it definitely was hard. I’m a big team guy, and it was hard to see them go out there and compete without me. I’m a big competitor. It was hard, but I’m excited to be for a big divisional game.”

The Steelers entered the year with high expectations for Freiermuth given he set career highs with 63 catches and 732 yards in his second NFL season. He also showed as a rookie when he caught seven touchdown passes that he could be effective in the red zone.

Freiermuth wasn’t a focal point of the offense before his injury. He had just 13 targets and eight catches in three-plus games. He was anticipating the injury being short term, with a potential return after the bye. Plans changed when he tweaked the injury in practice.

“I wanted to continue to be in that routine of going over the film of the opponent we’re playing, but it’s hard to stay into it when you know you’re not playing,” he said. “I took pride in staying extra in the weight room and the treatment room to get back as fast as possible. And it was good to be on IR in a way because I had time. I couldn’t rush back.

“I was able to spend the last two weeks being able to open up and cut, and this week I feel comfortable with the movement.”

The Steelers are envisioning Freiermuth’s return benefiting the offense much the way Diontae Johnson’s did after a four-week stint on IR with his own hamstring issues. A healthy Freiermuth will help alleviate the double teams that wide receiver George Pickens has faced since, well, the opener, the only game in which Johnson, Freiermuth and Pickens were on the field together.

“It puts even more pressure on the defense,” Johnson said. “You can’t double everybody or cover everybody. Pat works the middle, and (Pickens) works the outside. So, you can’t stop it (all). If they stop us on the outside by (double-teaming) us, Pat’s going to tear it up in the middle.”

Without Freiermuth running routes across the middle, Pickett has been reluctant to attempt passes between the hash marks, opting to look for his receivers along the sidelines. Perhaps that approach will change against the Browns.

“Kenny has done a great job executing the offense,” Freiermuth said. “I’m excited to see what we can do when I’m out there.”

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