“Don’t be acting old today.
“I’m not.
“We’ll take care of your ass all next week, alright? But your ass can’t be old today.
“I got you. I got you.
“You sit on the couch ‘til Thursday but we need your old ass today”.
That was part of the pre-game conversation between Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and DL Cameron Heyward on Sunday prior to the game against the Green Bay Packers, as aired on Inside the NFL last night on The CW.
It was the 34-year-old’s second game back on the field after missing the majority of the first half of the season due to a groin injury. By far the longest-tenured member of the organization as a player, his play on the field is as indispensable as his leadership.
As that pre-game conversation tells you. Amid conversations about what they need to do to get the young players what they need during the game, Tomlin was also letting him know, he’d better look spry out there, not like a guy who’s thinking about retirement.
And he’s done work since he’s been back with nine tackles and two for loss over the past two games, over the course of which he amassed 81 snaps of playing time. He looks like he’s still playing his way back into his game—but not due to his age, rather due to the time elapsed as a result of his injury.
Heyward is still employed at the level that he is because of his on-field contributions, not his leadership. He’s earned—earned—Pro Bowl billing six years running, though he’s likely missed far too much time in 2023 to keep that streak going. Between 2021-22, Heyward recorded 20.5 sacks, 163 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, an interception, and 13 passes defensed. He showed no signs of slowing down entering this season.
That’s the Cameron Heyward Tomlin needs. Now, the defensive line didn’t fall apart in his absence, granted. Larry Ogunjobi and Montravius Adams have been solid, and rookie Keeanu Benton has shown a lot of promise. DeMarvin Leal and Isaiahh Loudermilk didn’t altogether embarrass themselves.
But as of yet none of them have displayed the capacity to be a game-changer. There’s a reason Heyward gets paid what he does, and the Steelers still expect a level of performance out of him in his 13th season commensurate with that compensation.
He’ll get his Thursday practices off and he can worry about his podcast in the early portions of the week if he so chooses, but when it comes time to play the game, they need the son of Ironhead out there smashing away. Or to paraphrase Tomlin, he can sit on the couch during the week, but they need his old ass on game days.
