Somehow this story has shown tremendous staying power but a certain section of the Internet believes Pittsburgh Steelers’ DE Cam Heyward could retire this offseason. Heyward’s own comments and tweets have partially fed into the theory, telling reporters after the season his future was a bit uncertain and he’d need to take time to think things over. Heyward played things up most recently by retweeting this account that said he was retiring.
But on the latest episode of his Not Just Football podcast, Heyward made it clear he doesn’t plan on moving on with life’s work.
“People are already asking for my retirement,” he said. “Me having fun retweeting it and going with it…I’m not retiring as of right now. I’m just in the moment.”
Fans will hang on “as of right now” as Heyward leaving the door open and Heyward hasn’t unequivocally stated he’ll be back in 2023. He made similar comments in January days after the season ending, also saying he didn’t think he was retiring and he wants “to keep playing.” As of now, there’s no indication he’s looking to spend next fall on his couch. Heyward did admit though he’s still recovering from the season and a busy past couple of weeks attending this year’s Pro Bowl while being a popular man during Super Bowl week on Radio Row.
“You won’t see me on no damn beach about to do my retirement. I’ll say that. I’m getting ready. I’m working out too damn much to worry about retirement right now. I’m just trying to lay low for a little bit. We had a long season. Super Bowl week really took a lot out of me too…it’s time to be a dad, time to focus on getting better.”
Heyward admitted to doing a bit of Internet trolling with his retweets. Earlier Tuesday, he put out another that indicated he’s coming back to Pittsburgh in 2023.
And told another user he was just joking.
Heyward will return to the Steelers in 2023 currently second on the team’s all-time sack list with 78.5. He needs two sacks to tie James Harrison’s record and 2.5 to break it. But Heyward will also be battling T.J. Watt, who sits right behind him with 77.5 sacks. That’ll be a fun battle to watch out of the gates next year.
Expect Heyward to be back for Year #13. Though the older he gets and the more he floats the idea, the higher the odds each season will be his last.
Be sure to check out the entire podcast by clicking below.
