It was a rather difficult 2023 season for veteran Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, in large part due to injuries.
The injury issues started right away as he partially tore his groin on the first day of training camp and tried to play through it. Then, in the season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers, Heyward completely tore the groin muscle, knocking him out of the blowout loss at Acrisure Stadium.
That injury caused Heyward to undergo surgery a few days later, landing him on the Reserve/Injured List for six games.
Surprisingly, Heyward battled his way back, returning to the field in six weeks from a 12-week injury. But when he returned, he wasn’t really the same. That frustrated Heyward and caused him to get another surgery after the season to clean up some issues in hopes of being fully healthy and back playing on two legs in his 14th NFL season.
While GM Omar Khan stated recently that the Steelers have to be smart with Heyward’s reps leading into the season, head coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t anticipate Heyward’s health being an issue once late July rolls around.
“I’m not anticipating it to be a factor by the time we get to training camp,” Tomlin said to reporters Monday from the NFL Owners Meetings in Orlando, according to video via Steelers.com. “I don’t. I haven’t even asked about the offseason. I’m not overly concerned about it to be honest with you, in terms of his availability.”
The surgery in mid-February was a clean-up on the groin injury from the season, which comes as no surprise. Now that it’s the offseason, Heyward has time to fully heal, rather than rehabbing as quick as possible to get back onto the field. Though it was admirable how quickly Heyward returned from surgery during the season to put his hand back in the pile, that speedy return might have done more harm than good.
Heyward had just 33 tackles, two sacks and six tackles for loss on the season and really looked his age at times in the second half of the season, though he did look like himself again in the Wild Card loss to the Bills.
Overall, the 2023 season was a difficult one 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.”
It wasn’t all bad for Heyward in 2023 though as his efforts off the field led to his first Walter Payton Man of the Year award, something he’s been striving for his entire career.
Now, as he recovers from his second surgery in six months, Heyward, who turns 35 in early May, is aiming to return to his high level of play that he’s been accustomed to in the Black and Gold. He has to be smart about his work this offseason, but his health shouldn’t be an issue come training camp, much like Tomlin believes.
