Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2023 season is getting underway after the team finished above .500 but failing to make the postseason last year, we turn our attention to the next chapter of Steelers football and everything that entails. One thing that it means is that some stock evaluations are going to start taking on more specific contexts as we get into the season, reflecting more immediate plusses and minus rather than trends over long periods. The nature of the evaluation, whether short-term or long-term, will be noted in the reasoning section below.
Player: DL Cameron Heyward
Stock Value: Up
Reasoning: In a bit of welcome news, the veteran defensive lineman returned to practice yesterday for the first time since aggravating a groin injury in the season opener. He now has 21 days to be activated to the 53-man roster, or else he will be made ineligible to play for the remainder of the season.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers DL Tyson Alualu was a guest on Cameron Heyward’s latest podcast episode. He was asked to predict his player of the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars for the Steelers, and asked Heyward if he was playing. While he emphatically said no, the manner in which Heyward said it indicated he was miffed at Alualu almost giving something away.
A day after the episode aired, Heyward was back at practice for the first time since sustaining a groin injury in the season opener. Now, that doesn’t mean that he is going to play on Sunday against the Jaguars with just one regular practice and one walkthrough. And Pittsburgh has a Thursday game coming after this, so he’s unlikely to be back for that as well.
But could he return in time for Week 10, which would be a Nov. 12 home game against the Green Bay Packers? We can’t rule that out. I suppose technically we can’t rule out the possibility that he will be out there this weekend, though I’d bet money he won’t be.
Whenever he does return, it will be a boon to the defense. The six-time Pro Bowler is one of the team’s best players irrespective of position and is its leader. Over the previous two seasons, he registered 20.5 sacks with 29 tackles for loss, 40 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, an interception, and 13 passes defensed.
The Steelers have some young guys holding down the fort in Keeanu Benton and DeMarvin Leal, but getting Heyward back in the lineup will relieve some of the pressure not just on them but also veteran Larry Ogunjobi.
Of course, the important thing is staying on the field and healthy once he does return. The Steelers have to be sure that he is not going to aggravate the groin again before he returns, while mitigating the risk of injury elsewhere due to overcompensation.
