The Pittsburgh Steelers had a busy offseason. General manager Omar Khan spearheaded an effort to remake the quarterback room, add an injection of youth and talent to the offensive line, and add more players to the inside linebacker corps. It’s hard not to like what Khan and the Steelers have done, and DL Cam Heyward agrees.
What Heyward doesn’t want is for the team to get too far ahead of itself. Just because the team made good moves in the offseason doesn’t mean the Steelers are guaranteed to be an excellent team in 2024.
“I think they’re all good acquisitions, but you never want to be known as the paper champ,” Heyward said via video from Aaron Becker of Yardbarker. “You can’t win the offseason. I think the work gets done out here on the field, gets done in the classroom, it gets done during training. Then you see where you’re at in training camp. You’re building on that. I think we got the right guys in the building.”
DT Cameron Heyward likes what the #Steelers did this offseason but knows there’s more work to be done.
“You never want to be known as a paper champ. You can’t win the offseason. … I think we got the right guys in the building. It’s just about putting the team on the field.” pic.twitter.com/o49MfBmN6c
— Aaron Becker (@Aaron_M_Becker) June 4, 2024
There is little question that the Steelers invested in some key positions this offseason. Despite the low price tags, they brought in some high-profile quarterbacks in Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. They also invested three draft picks in the offensive line, with two coming with their first two selections.
The Steelers added two inside linebackers, Patrick Queen in free agency and Payton Wilson in the draft. They also added help in the secondary by signing S DeShon Elliot, CB Anthony Averett, and even DB Grayland Arnold on Tuesday. That doesn’t include drafting DB Ryan Watts, either.
However, just because the Steelers added plenty of talent this offseason does not mean they automatically become better. Talent alone does not win football games. Heyward highlights the work that each player, not just the new additions, needs to put in this offseason. It begins in OTAs but continues throughout the summer.
That’s work as a team on the field in drills. That’s work in the classroom with units learning from coaches. And that’s work in the training room whether as part of the team or individually. Then it all comes together for training camp where the coaching staff will get to see who has put the hard work in and who hasn’t.
By all accounts, the Steelers should be improved thanks to a better quarterback situation and upgrades at linebacker and safety. There are still question marks, and these upgrades are strictly on paper at the moment. It’ll be up to the players and their hard work to translate those paper upgrades to real-life upgrades on Sundays.
