The Pittsburgh Steelers offseason was praised by many in the media after an active free agency and a draft that was often ranked among the best in the NFL. Consequently, many pundits are saying the Steelers have “won the offseason,” something many fans of the Black and Gold are not used to hearing. Despite the constant praise, Steelers DT Cameron Heyward doesn’t think the team has won anything yet and still has a lot of work to be done.
“I just don’t like putting in the stock, ‘Oh, you won the offseason, now you’re gonna win the Super Bowl,'” Heyward told 102.5 WDVE’s Mike Prisuta in audio that was posted to iHeartRadio Pittsburgh on YouTube. “I don’t look at it like that. I think we have a lot more growth that needs to take place and I look forward to that. I don’t like rushing the process. I don’t like thinking all our eggs are in a basket right now. It’s about growing and continue to keep working on our craft, and we’ll see where we’re at at the beginning of this thing.”
Heyward and his teammates report to Latrobe tomorrow to start the process of seeing where they are, the first day of training camp. While the Steelers made lots of moves this offseason, including overhauling their inside linebacker room, we have yet to see how these new faces will look in a new home. There have been plenty of paper champions before who fizzled out by December. Heyward is determined to not let that happen in Pittsburgh this season. The Steelers are looking to avoid missing the playoffs for a second straight year and to win their first postseason game since 2016. Throughout his career, Heyward has only won a single playoff game he’s participated in.
The process that Heyward describes is going to be a grueling one. Head coach Mike Tomlin will put every Steeler — rookie, veteran, new acquisition — through a difficult three-week training camp as he tries to mold his team into a winner. This process will create a better team, one that will be ready to take on an uber-physical AFC North.
Given how the media has been talking about the Steelers this offseason as winners, they certainly will have a target on their back. Heyward knows being called “offseason winners” is meaningless and will be determined to make the 2023 Steelers winners on the field.
