Pittsburgh Steelers TE Connor Heyward was fined $5,049 for unnecessary roughness on a punt in the team’s Week 18 regular season finale against the Baltimore Ravens.
As the NFL has done throughout the season, they’ve made their fine list publicly available and updated every Saturday at 4 PM/EST. Heyward was the lone Steeler to be fined to close out the regular season. The penalty occurred early in the first quarter after Heyward cracked this Ravens’ return man on Calvin Austin III’s punt return.
There was no penalty on the play.
Besides the hit to his wallet, Heyward played a key role in Pittsburgh’s 17-10 victory. An effective run blocker, the Steelers found plenty of success running out of heavy personnel with multiple tight ends on the field. Pittsburgh ran for 155 yards on the day as RB Najee Harris eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the third time in his career, becoming the first back in Steelers’ history to achieve such a feat in his first three seasons.
Logging 23 offensive snaps, Heyward caught two passes for four yards, picking up one third down conversion. His sophomore season ends with 23 catches for 167 yards. He also carried the ball once for no gain, a failed conversion against the Las Vegas Raiders early in the year.
A multi-phase special teamer, Heyward recorded 247 snaps on Pittsburgh’s third-unit throughout the season. He finished the year with two tackles. His offensive snap count jumped by a large margin, 174 his rookie year to 403 in 2023, though TE Pat Freiermuth missing time with a hamstring injury helped pave the way for more opportunity.
No Ravens’ players were fined in Saturday’s game.
All fines are set by the CBA and increase a certain percentage per year. Fines are given by the NFL to charity.
Heyward will get ready for his first postseason game when the Steelers play the Buffalo Bills on Monday at 4:30 PM/EST after the game was postponed from Sunday at 1.
