It was a rather trying season for Cameron Heyward in his 13th NFL season in 2023. Injuries hit him hard and fast, starting right away in training camp and then shelving him early in the season for six games.
Now in the offseason as he prepares for Year 14 in the Black and Gold, he’s focused on getting his body right.
That started Monday with Heyward undergoing surgery. Heyward posted on social media that he had surgery Monday morning and is looking forward to getting back to feeling good.
“Surgery finally done!!! Ready to get back to feeling good!” Heyward wrote on a post to his Instagram page with a picture of him in a hospital bed.
It’s unclear what kind of surgery Heyward underwent, but he did have surgery during the season after tearing his groin in the season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers. That landed him on Injured Reserve, causing him to miss six games before returning in Week Nine against the Tennessee Titans on Thursday Night Football. He chimed in after the surgery on Twitter, writing “Done doing stuff on 1 leg that guys were doing on 2 legs lol Can’t wait to get back to myself.”
Speaking with reporters a few days after the Wild Card Round loss to the Buffalo Bills, Heyward stated that he hurt himself on the first day of training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, eventually leading to the six-time Pro Bowler fully tearing a groin muscle in the season opener against 49ers.
According to a tweet at the time from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Ray Fittipaldo, Heyward said that he partially tore his groin muscle on the first day of training camp. He then suffered a complete tear in the season opener against the 49ers, putting him under the knife for surgery and landing him on Injured Reserve while being designated to return.
Heyward also added, according to another tweet from Fittipaldo, that doctors told him he had a 12-week injury, but he was able to return in a little over six weeks after speeding up the recovery process.
But even after returning to the field and becoming a key fixture for the Steelers defensively, Heyward wasn’t really himself throughout the season. That quick return to the field might have done more harm than good for Heyward physically. Heyward had just 33 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss on the season and really looked his age at times on the field in the second half of the season, though he did look like himself again in the Wild Card loss to the Bills.
Still, it was a difficult season for Heyward, which he stated plainly following the conclusion of Year 13.
“In my heart, I want to play,” Heyward said via the team’s YouTube channel. “But it’s been rough. I need to take the offseason to get healthy again. Battling back through a groin, it’s one thing to just walk off a groin, doesn’t mean you can play football, and there’s been some other stuff, but it’s definitely been a season that I just want to put my hand in that pile.”
Being able to return and put his hand in the pile was huge for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner. He showed true toughness and a team-first mentality, knowing the team needed him and putting his own health aside just to get back onto the field and help push for a playoff spot.
But now, the offseason is a key one as the Steelers need to rework his contract, and Heyward needs to get healthy again in an effort to return to his dominant ways. Monday’s surgery appears to be the start of that.
