The return of Pittsburgh Steelers star defensive tackle Cameron Heyward is drawing closer and closer.
Heyward, who has been on Injured Reserve since suffering a groin injury in the season-opening loss to the San Francisco 49ers, returned to practice Thursday at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, opening his 21-day window to be activated off of the Reserve/Injured list, according to the Steelers.
Previously, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Steelers’ beat write Gerry Dulac speculated that Heyward could return to the lineup for the Nov. 12 matchup against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium, but Heyward wouldn’t put a timetable on his return during a recent episode of his podcast “Not Just Football w/ Cam Heyward.”
Heyward’s return to the field will give a big boost to the Steelers’ defense, which has struggled to stop the run without Heyward on the field.
Once he returns to the lineup, he should be able to help clean up some of the issues that the league’s worst run defense is having early on in the season. Through the first six games of the season the Steelers are allowing 142.3 yards per game on the ground, which is fifth-worst in the NFL, getting gashed time and time again. Though Heyward is not a fix-all, his presence will be key in helping the Steelers try and turn things around from a run defense standpoint.
Despite being on the Reserve/Injured list while recovering from groin surgery, Heyward has maintained a key presence around the Steelers. He’s traveled with the team on road trips to Las Vegas, Houston and most recently Los Angeles and has consistently been on the sideline as an extension of the coaching staff for the players, and vice versa.
We’ll see what his practice designation looks like moving forward. Chances are, he won’t make the return to the lineup for Sunday’s game against the Jaguars, but there’s a chance he could see the field in Week Nine at home against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football.
