When the clock hit triple zeroes Monday night and the season ended for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills, it left a bitter taste in a lot of people’s mouths. One of the players who felt it a whole lot is DL Cam Heyward. He’s played 13 seasons now, and he’s only played in the playoffs in six of those seasons.
After the loss in the AFC Wild Card Round, Heyward was asked about having played with guys who have won the Super Bowl and not having gotten that opportunity himself. In the video provided by Steelers.com, you could see the pain on his face when he answered.
“That’s the thing that bugs me the most at night,” Heyward said. “Not having an opportunity to win a Super Bowl. Seeing all my teammates before that won it, seeing the culture and tradition here, every man should feel that way. It stings to be out of the playoffs, not having a chance to continue to move on. I’m not ready to give that up.”
Heyward was a rookie back in 2011. That roster had a number of veterans who had won at least one Super Bowl, including offensive players like QB Ben Roethlisberger, WR Hines Ward, and TE Heath Miller, all Steelers legends.
Then there were Heyward’s defensive teammates: Hall of Fame S Troy Polamalu, S Ryan Clark, LB James Harrison, and DEs Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel were all there. Heyward spent every practice around Super Bowl-winning players and learning from them. He was fortunate to be surrounded by champions.
Now, with the 2023 season officially over for Heyward and the Steelers, he still hasn’t been able to lift the Lombardi Trophy himself. It hurts, and it probably doesn’t help that this was one of his most trying seasons to date. He appeared in the second-fewest games of his career thanks mostly to a groin injury that robbed him of the first two months of the season essentially.
Heyward is unfortunately not getting any younger at 34 years old, but the passion and desire to be a Super Bowl champion seemingly burns as bright, if not even brighter, than ever.
