Eric Ebron is slated to return to the Steelers this week after a two-week absence due to a hamstring injury.
But what exactly will he return to as the Steelers (5-3) prepare to host the Lions (0-8) Sunday at Heinz Field?
With Ebron out of action, the Steelers have leaned heavily on second-round draft pick Pat Freiermuth in their past two games. Freiermuth, a Penn State product, has played 58 and 51 offensive snaps the past two weeks, logging at least 71 percent of the team's offensive snaps in both games.
And he's produced at a high level.
After catching four passes for 44 yards and an acrobatic, juggling touchdown two weeks ago in a 15-10 win over the Browns, Freiermuth was an even bigger part of the offense in Monday night's 29-27 victory over the Bears at Heinz Field, catching five passes for 43 yards and two scores.
Freiermuth now is second among NFL tight ends with four touchdown receptions, while his 27 receptions are tied for 12th overall among players at the position. He's not going anywhere.
"He's doing what we've all seen him do throughout the process, and that's catch the football," Mike Tomlin said of Freiermuth. "He makes combat catches. He makes the tough catch seem somewhat routine. His hand-eye (coordination) and his body control are exceptional for a bigger-bodied guy, a tight end-type guy. He's still growing and learning in a lot of ways both on and off the field week in and week out. But he's got an awesome base and a skill set to build upon."
More importantly, Freiermuth had some key blocks Monday night, particularly out in space on the six wide receiver runs the Steelers attempted in the game. Those runs produced 37 yards as the Steelers leaned heavily on getting their receivers on the edge to offset the way the Bears were attacking the line of scrimmage to slow Najee Harris.
"I think I did a decent job blocking on the perimeter. I still have to get better blocking D-ends," Freiermuth acknowledged. "Those are some big dudes. I’ve got to get better at that, but I thought I did a good job on the perimeter."
It worked to a large degree, as the Bears controlled the line of scrimmage, limiting Harris to 62 yards on 22 carries.
The Steelers are using No. 3 tight end Zach Gentry as that in-line blocker and he's been fine in that regard.
So, with Ebron, who caught 56 passes for 558 yards and five touchdowns a year ago returning, where do his snaps come from?
That might depend upon the overall health of wide receiver Chase Claypool. Tomlin said Claypool is dealing with a toe injury coming out of Monday night's game. He briefly left the game and returned, but was sent for an MRI Tuesday to see exactly what the issue might be.
Ebron and Freiermuth were splitting offensive snaps at about a 50-50 rate earlier in the season, but Ebron has only played more than 34 offensive snaps in one of the six games in which he has played this season.
With JuJu Smith-Schuster out for the season and Claypool potentially compromised, the Steelers might have to turn to Ebron more.
Ebron has seven receptions for 47 yards this season, but does have a rushing touchdown. He's twice topped 60 catches in his career and is a matchup issue because of his size and speed.
Some felt the Steelers should try to trade Ebron at the league deadline last week, but there wasn't a market for the 28-year-old, especially considering he was dealing with a hamstring injury and has been relegated to a lesser role this season.
Now, however, those who wanted Ebron traded might be glad he's still around.
"Ebron had a good week last week," Tomlin said. "We anticipate him working this week, possibly as early as (Wednesday). We'll let the quality of that work be our guide in terms of potential inclusion into this plan (this week)."
