Now 35 years old, Cam Heyward is clearly closer to the end of his career than the beginning. For the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, he believes Heyward has only more lap around the track. Joining Sirius radio Sunday morning, Dulac weighed in on Heyward’s future in response to the team’s need along the defensive line.
“They need to rebuild, restock that line,” he told hosts Bill Lekas and Brad Hopkins. “Especially because I’m going to guess this will be Cam Heyward’s last year.”
To be abundantly clear, that’s a guess from Dulac, not a report or insider speculation. Heyward is currently in the last year of his contract, though it’s possible, as Dave Bryan has outlined during the offseason, that the team reaches an extension with him. That would reduce his 2024 cap hit, free up salary cap space, and give Heyward the chance to be on the roster past this season.
Heyward is coming off the most difficult year of his career. Battling a groin injury during the summer, he fully tore it in the first half of the Steelers’ Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Undergoing surgery, he missed the first half of the season and battled to return as quickly as possible. He returned for the team’s Week 9 game against the Tennessee Titans and while he boosted the Steelers’ d-line, it was obvious he was nowhere near to full health. His run defense was still stout and physically he looked strong at the point of attack. But he had difficulty firing off the ball and couldn’t rush the passer well, unable to effectively and freely move like normal.
He gutted out the year, but his production suffered. Heyward finished the year with just two sacks, his lowest output since 2012, with only three quarterback hurries. Using relative numbers that don’t impact his seasonal snap count being cut in half, Heyward’s pressure rate was severely worse. In 2022, he averaged a pressure every 11.5 snaps. In 2023, he averaged one every 30.1 snaps. Again, the injury was the catalyst for this decline, but it also served as reminder that Heyward isn’t getting younger, and the team lacks a succession plan. Heyward was drafted earlier than the team needed a lineman because of the team’s goal to make a seamless transition from Aaron Smith/Brett Keisel to the next generation. They’ve yet to do so with Heyward.
Still, Dulac’s guess might not come true. In 2022, Heyward told ESPN’s Mina Kimes he wanted to play five more seasons, which would put 2025 and beyond squarely within his goals. A lot has happened since then, but Heyward’s maintained a similar mindset. In February, he tweeted back at fans and pundits who thought he should retire now, excited to prove them wrong in 2024. It wasn’t the language of someone preparing to head into their final year or contemplating an uncertain future.
Of course, for that to occur in Pittsburgh, an extension either this summer or before next March will have to take place. It’s fair to assume both sides would like Heyward to finish his career in Pittsburgh. The question is how they can get such a deal worked out and for how long Heyward will keep on playing.
