Steelers' Darnell Washington: Snags another TD in Paris victory
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Washington caught his lone target for a four-yard touchdown in Sunday's 16-10 win over the Saints in Paris.
Washington made his one catch count, out-muscling a defender for the goal-line score. The burly tight end has Aaron Rodgers' eyes in the scoring area and now has a touchdown in back-to-back weeks and three of his last four outings. On the year, Washington has 16 grabs for 160 yards and three scores on 23 targets. He's a touchdown-or-bust fantasy bet most weeks.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Catches TD in win over Tampa Bay
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Washington caught four of six targets for 25 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 26-19 overtime win over the Bucs.
The Steelers entered the fourth quarter trailing 16-3, but Washington sparked the comeback with a five-yard touchdown to make it 16-10. It was the big tight end's second touchdown of the season, and he's now recorded 15 grabs for 156 yards and the two scores on 22 targets through six games. He's on pace for a career year in the receiving department and is a preferred target of Aaron Rodgers near the goal line due to his sheer size advantage.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Only two catches in Week 5 win
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Washington caught two of three targets for 12 yards during the Steelers' 34-22 win over the Colts on Sunday.
Both of Washington's catches came in the first half, and he saw just one more target from Aaron Rodgers in the third quarter. Washington's numbers were dwarfed by his tight end teammate Pat Freiermuth, with the latter finishing with a 5-44-2 receiving line on seven targets. Washington will take an 11-131-1 receiving line (on 16 targets) into the Steelers' Week 6 road tilt against the Buccaneers, whose defense ranks in the bottom-10 in the league in receiving yards allowed to tight ends this season.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Finds paydirt in Week 4 loss
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Washington caught three of five targets for 27 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Cleveland on Thursday.
Washington was one of four Steelers who tied for second on the team with four receptions. Most of his yardage came on a 21-yard touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter that brought Pittsburgh to within five points. Washington began the campaign with a quiet first two weeks, but he's put together a solid 6-94-1 receiving line over his past two contests. He and the Steelers will next face Indianapolis at home next Sunday.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Starts in Sunday's loss
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Washington caught one of his two targets for seven yards in Sunday's loss to the Patriots.
Washington played 37 offensive snaps and two special-teams snaps as the tight end started alongside Pat Freiermuth. The 25-year-old has become a staple of the Steelers' 12-personnel offense and is slated to continue primarily serving as a blocker who sees occasional opportunities in the passing game.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Brings in both targets vs. Atlanta
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Washington caught both of his targets for 18 yards during the Steelers' 20-13 win over the Falcons on Sunday.
Washington was listed as a co-starter alongside Pat Freiermuth on Sunday, though the former didn't see a target from Aaron Rodgers until the second half. Freiermuth led all Steelers tight ends with 49 snaps on offense, though Washington wasn't far behind (43) and figures to be regularly involved in 12 personnel. The Steelers hit the road for a Week 2 clash against the Patriots on Sept. 20.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Makes two preseason appearances
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Washington ended the preseason slate with one reception (on one target) for five yards across two contests.
QB Aaron Rodgers and WRs DK Metcalf (undisclosed) and Michael Pittman (hamstring) didn't suit up during exhibition season, but Washington was among the regular members of the Steelers offense to see some work along the way. Washington is coming off a career-best 31-364-1 line on 43 targets in 16 regular-season games in 2025, and he's also logged between 497 and 560 offensive snaps in each of his three pro campaigns. Still, with Pat Freiermuth locked in to the top pass-catching TE role, Washington will need to take advantage of his sparse looks from Rodgers.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Past forearm injury
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Washington (forearm) is participating in OTAs this week, Mark Kaboly of 93.7 The Fan Pittsburgh reports.
Washington broke his arm in Week 17 last season and missed the remainder of the regular season and the team's wild-card playoff loss to the Texans. Now healthy, Washington is expected to handle an expanded role alongside Pat Freiermuth in 2026 after the Steelers released Jonnu Smith earlier in the offseason.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Placed on IR
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The Steelers placed Washington (forearm) on IR on Wednesday, Teresa Varley of the team's official site reports.
Washington suffered what coach Mike Tomlin revealed was a broken arm in the Steelers' Week 17 loss to the Browns, an injury that subsequently required surgery, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. In Washington's absence, Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith are in line to lead Pittsburgh's TE corps, with Connor Heyward also on hand.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Gets surgery, likely out for season
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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Washington underwent surgery Tuesday to address a broken forearm and won't be available for Sunday's game against the Ravens, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.
Tomlin was reluctant to say whether Washington's surgery would keep him sidelined for a potential playoff run, but Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays that the Steelers aren't expecting the tight end back for the postseason even if Pittsburgh clinches the AFC North title with a victory over the Ravens. The Steelers appear set to head into Week 18 with Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward as their available options at tight end. Washington concludes his third NFL season with 31 catches for 364 yards and a touchdown on 43 targets over 16 appearances.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Suffers broken arm Sunday
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Coach Mike Tomlin said that Washington suffered a broken arm during Sunday's 13-6 loss to the Browns, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.
Per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com, Tomlin said he didn't know if Washington will be out for the Steelers' regular-season finale against the Ravens, with the AFC North title on the line; however, it seems very likely that Washington will miss that contest, at a minimum. If so, Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith would pace Pittsburgh's TE corps in his absence.
Washington exited Sunday's game against the Browns with a forearm injury, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.
Before that, Washington caught both of his targets for 15 yards. While he's sidelined, Pat Freiermuth, Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward are available to handle the Steelers' Week 17 TE reps.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Cleared to play Monday
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The Steelers announced Sunday that Washington cleared concussion protocol and no longer carries a designation for Monday's game against the Dolphins.
After logging three straight limited practice this week, Washington had initially been listed as questionable for the contest. Now that he's been cleared to play Monday, the tight end will be able to maintain his growing role in Pittsburgh's passing game. Over his last three games, Washington has reeled in five of his seven targets for 79 yards, though it's worth noting that Washington was forced out of the Week 14 win over the Ravens after logging just 15 snaps on offense.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Limited Thursday, still in protocol
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Washington (concussion) was a limited participant in Thursday's practice, Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com reports.
Washington remains in concussion protocol, which he entered after being concussed during this past Sunday's win over the Ravens. In order to clear the protocol and be eligible to suit up Monday against the Dolphins, Washington will need to upgrade to full participation by Saturday and gain clearance from an independent neurologist.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Won't return Sunday
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Washington (concussion) won't return to Sunday's game against the Ravens. Burt Lauten of the Steelers' official site reports.
Washington, who caught his only target in the contest for 12 yards, will thus target a potential return to action Dec. 15 against the Dolphins. Jonnu Smith, Pat Freiermuth and Connor Heyward are left to handle Pittsburgh's TE duties for the remainder of Week 14 action.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Records 45 yards
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Washington recorded two receptions on four targets for 45 yards in Sunday's 26-7 loss to the Bills.
Washington's modest performance was good enough to lead the Steelers in receiving yards, and he finished tied for second on the team in targets. Those thresholds were more indicative of the poor offensive showing for the Steelers, though Washington continues to gain more of a role as a receiver. He has at least four targets in three of his last five games -- logging at least 40 receiving yards in all three -- after hitting that mark only twice in his first eight contests.
Washington (foot) practiced fully Thursday, Teresa Varley of the Steelers' official site reports.
Washington didn't practice Wednesday, but his return to a full session a day later suggests that his absence was maintenance-related. In the Steelers' Week 9 win over the Colts, Washington led his team's tight ends in catches (four) and receiving yards (43) while logging six targets, but his production this season has been hit or miss due to the fact that Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth also are commanding their share of Pittsburgh's TE snaps and targets.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Participating in practice Thursday
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Washington (foot) returned to practice Thursday, Alan Saunders of SteelersNow.com reports.
Washington didn't practice Wednesday, but his return Thursday is encouraging, though it remains to be seen if he'll manage to practice without limitations. Working as part of a rotation alongside Pat Freiermuth and Jonnu Smith, Washington has accrued 127 yards receiving yards and one touchdown through eight games. He hasn't missed a regular-season game in his three-year career heading into Sunday's road matchup against the Chargers.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Best yardage total of career
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Washington recorded three receptions on five targets for 62 yards in Sunday's 23-9 win over the Browns. He also fumbled, but the ball went out of bounds.
Washington continues to emerge in the Pittsburgh offense, as he led the tight end corps in targets and receiving yards. His involvement began immediately, as he recorded a 36-yard reception on the first play from scrimmage. Washington later chipped in gains of 12 and 14 yards, both of which came primarily after the catch. The end result was Washington's best yardage total of his career, and he seems to have surpassed Jonnu Smith and Pat Freiermuth for targets in the Pittsburgh offense.
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Steelers' Darnell Washington: Sees uptick in playing time
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Washington secured all three of his targets for 20 yards during Sunday's 24-21 win over the Vikings.
Washington was targeted just once over the first three weeks of the regular season while playing less than half of the team's offensive snaps during that time. However, Jonnu Smith was limited in practice this week, and Washington was on the field for 91 percent of Pittsburgh's offensive snaps during the matchup in Dublin. While it was encouraging to see Washington get more involved, his role will likely decline if Smith is able to shed his limitations following the team's Week 5 bye.
