PITTSBURGH — With hours ticking until their self-imposed deadline, the Pittsburgh Steelers secured tight end Pat Freiermuth with a four-year, $48.4 million deal, his agency Athletes First confirmed to ESPN.

The franchise doesn’t negotiate contracts in season and traditionally shuts down conversations prior to the team’s departure for their Week 1 game. The Steelers are scheduled to leave for Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. Talks intensified late in the week, league sources said, to get the deal finished.

Freiermuth, 25, was selected by the Steelers in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and he figures to be a significant piece of coordinator Arthur Smith’s tight end-friendly offense.

Freiermuth was limited by soft tissue injuries last season, but he flashed his potential against the Cincinnati Bengals when he recorded nine receptions on 11 targets for 120 yards. Freiermuth had his most productive scoring season as a rookie playing with Ben Roethlisberger, recording seven touchdowns in 60 receptions. In 2022, Freiermuth had a career-high 732 receiving yards.

With the Steelers thin at wide receiver behind George Pickens, Freiermuth is poised for an even bigger role in the 2024 offense.