Pittsburgh Steelers DL Cameron Heyward made very clear yesterday that he wants a new contract. While he acknowledged the reality of the odds for a 35-year-old lineman coming off injury cashing in, he’s not prepared to sell himself short. He addressed the topic of contracts for players in his position after reporting to OTAs yesterday.
“I think there’s not a lot of history behind it, but for me, I look it as I’m not looking to be like anybody else”, Heyward said, via the team’s website, about older players in his position earning substantial new contracts. “My game is different from anybody else in this league, I like to think. I can play the run and the pass, and that’s where I’m different”.
Heyward does have a point there, in that his greatest asset is not one that diminishes as clearly. There’s no question that he still possesses plenty of “old man strength”, and he builds so much of his game around a combination of that and his intelligence. He was never the most quick, nimble, or agile defensive end, so he’s not losing much there.
“You watch powerlifters, my game’s built on power and technique, and those guys go into their 40s”, Heyward pointed out. “That’s the kind of research I’m doing behind the scenes. But we’ll see what happens. There’s not a lot of history, but I’m here to make history, and I’m here to win another Super Bowl here and have a great season”.
Cameron Heyward signed a four-year, $65 million contract extension in 2020. He is set to play out the final year of that extension in 2024. Included in those terms is a $16 million base salary the Steelers owe him for this season. But he wants to see a new deal, though he declined to go into details.
The last contract that Heyward signed averaged $16.4 million in annual salary. How determined is he to surpass that monetary figure on a potential new extension, if at all? He did express a desire that his contract reflect his stature relative to his position. He also said he believes he is still a top-five interior defensive lineman.
But there isn’t exactly a ton of precedent for 35-year-old defensive linemen even signing multi-year contract extensions. Heyward expressed a desire to play for three more seasons, so that’s a two-year extension plus the 2024 season.
For me, the sticking point is guarantees. Heyward watched the front office give T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick guarantees beyond the first year. Would he expect the same, even though he is beyond the prime of his career?
Last season was a grind for Heyward, who dealt with a groin injury from the start of training camp. His performance and statistics bear that out, but he was still at the top of his game before the injury. During the 2022 season, he recorded 74 tackles with 14 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks, 23 hits, a forced fumble, and four batted passes. If the Steelers believe he is still that player, as Heyward does, then perhaps there is middle ground to find.
