It’s hard, but I want to be a professional

Steelers tight end Eric Ebron has a reputation for sharing almost anything that’s on his mind, but he’s taking a different approach to questions about his reduced role with the team this season

Ebron’s playing time and role in the passing game have both shrunk this year and he said Monday that he “can’t answer” why that’s happened, although the arrival of rookie tight end Pat Friermuth seems like one obvious reason. He said it was a question for coaches, including first-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada, and that he’s just going to keep doing his job.

“It’s hard,” Ebron said, via Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “It’s not my life. I want to be a professional. I’m an adult. I’ve got two kids and I’ve got a wife, people that I lean on and talk to. It’s not only about my image anymore and how I portray myself. It’s the way I think about the people around me. My job is to come here and do what I’m asked to do, and I’ve been doing that to the best of my ability and I think it shows.”

Ebron has seven catches for 47 yards and one carry for a one-yard touchdown while playing 47 percent of the offensive so far this season. His role seems unlikely to expand as long as Friermuth is in the lineup and, with his contract set to expire, the end of the season is likely to be the end of his time in Pittsburgh.

Eric Ebron on reduced role: It’s hard, but I want to be a professional originally appeared on Pro Football Talk