Seeing a longtime team captain and a star player in the form of defensive lineman Cameron Heyward go down with an injury is a massive blow to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Heyward, due to a groin injury suffered in the Week One matchup against the San Francisco that will require surgery, is set to miss up to eight weeks. For the second straight year, the Steelers will be without a star player defensively early in the season for a sizable stretch.
Good news is, the Steelers have sound depth behind Heyward, at least on paper. That depth is led by second-year pro DeMarvin Leal and rookie Keeanu Benton, not to mention third-year defensive lineman Isaiahh Loudermilk. All three players have been drafted in successive years as the Steelers have invested in the depth in the trenches.
Now, that depth will be tested.
For Leal, who spoke to reporters Wednesday from inside the locker room of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, the future is now for the Black and Gold in the trenches.
“It’s definitely next generation up,” Leal said when asked how the Steelers replace Heyward, according to video via Steelers.com. “…You lose that smart veteran. He comes to the sideline and he tells us what he sees. H’s also communicating. He’s great at communicating about what’s going on on the field. We still got Larry [Ogunjobi], we still have Cam, we still have Alex [Highsmith], so it’s not like we’re not gonna have experienced vets that see something and won’t communicate it.
“So we’re just gonna have to be able to hold it down for him.”
Communication and understanding of everyone’s role on a given play around him is going to be the biggest blow without Heyward. He was the traffic cop, one that helped get everyone lined up properly and communicated what he was seeing, not only to his teammates on the field, but coaches on the sideline. He was like an additional coach on the field.
While he’ll still be around the team and on the sideline while recovering from the injury, not having him in that role on the field is a massive blow.
That’s why it’s very important that players like Leal, Benton and Loudermilk step up in major ways and contribute at a high level to try and put together a patchwork replacement plan of Heyward. The All-Pro is not going to be 1:1 replaced by any of the three, but all three bring something to the table to help fill the void without Heyward.
The Steelers believe in their talent, which is why they invested so heavily in the trio in three straight drafts. Now, it’s about delivering on that promise that the Steelers saw in them. The opportunity is in front of them. It’s going to be up to them to seize it and meet the standard.
