UPDATE: ESPN’s Brooke Pryor and Jeremy Fowler are reporting that surgery isn’t yet guaranteed as the Steelers await a second opinion on Tuesday.
Pittsburgh Steelers DL Cameron Heyward will have surgery on his injured groin and will miss up to eight weeks, per Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
We found earlier today per Ian Rapoport that surgery was an option and Heyward would miss multiple weeks. Now, an IR stint seems like a lock with Heyward going down for the next eight weeks. He suffered the injury in the team’s 30-7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, and per Dulac will undergo his surgery on Wednesday.
The injury is a huge blow to Pittsburgh, as not only are they losing an All-Pro caliber defender, but they’re losing one of the leaders of their defense. A co-defensive captain, Heyward is the heart and soul of this team, being their longest-tenured member, and losing him is going to hurt.
It’ll be the first time that Heyward misses games due to injury since 2016, when he missed the second half of the season due to a torn pectoral. Each of the past two seasons, Heyward has logged 17 games and been an integral piece to the Steelers’ defense as an interior pass rusher and run stopper.
With him being out up to eight weeks, it seems like the Steelers are targeting their Week 10 matchup against the Green Bay Packers for Heyward’s return. The injury also means the team is likely to add another defensive lineman, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see NT Breiden Fehoko get elevated from the practice squad. DL Armon Watts, who was a gameday inactive on Sunday, will also likely see a larger role. As will DLs DeMarvin Leal and Isaiahh Loudermilk.
Since missing time in 2016 with that pec injury, Heyward has been a model of consistency and durability. He’s been a Pro Bowler each of the past six seasons, while being named an All-Pro in four of those seasons. It was clear the injury was serious yesterday when Heyward twice tried to return and couldn’t keep playing, eventually being ruled out. Heyward is the type of player who can play through a lot of pain, so seeing him unable to go made it apparent the injury was a little more serious than Steelers fans would’ve liked.
Hopefully, everything goes well with Heyward’s surgery and rehab, and he can come back and make the same impact in the second half that T.J. Watt did after he missed seven games with his partially torn pectoral last season.
