Cameron Heyward made some headlines when he talked about accepting the “reality” of playing elsewhere in 2025 as he’s in the midst of contract negotiations with the Steelers, but The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly, who wrote the original article, isn’t buying it from Heyward. During an appearance on The PM Team on 93.7 The Fan, Kaboly said he thinks Heyward was playing “the old media game” and that he isn’t serious about being ready to leave the Steelers.
“He was saying the words, but he wasn’t believing what he said, if that makes any sense. Moving on, playing for another team, gotta do what you gotta do. You saw his face, I guess the worst-case scenario for him, if he had to do it, he’ll do it. But to me, I read it as him just wanting to stick around here and it’s just a matter of when that’s gonna happen in my eyes. So I think he was playing the old media game a little bit, out there showing the Steelers, ‘Hey, I’m willing to move on if that’s what it comes down to’, but I still have that feeling that he’s still gonna get this done sometime in training camp or right around training camp.”
When Heyward returned to OTAs last week, he said he wanted to be a one-helmet player. While I’m sure he’s pondered the idea of playing elsewhere if things really fall apart between him and the Steelers, I doubt that it’s something he’s actively looking for. His comments sounded like a leverage play with Pittsburgh, basically putting it out into the public sphere that he’ll play elsewhere if his demands weren’t met.
Heyward leaving Pittsburgh would frankly be a shock, given he’s spent his whole career with the team, his younger brother plays for the team and he’s an icon in the community for his work with his Heyward House charity. Kaboly said he expects an extension to get done around training camp, and it would be a major surprise if that wasn’t the case. If we go into Week 1 and Heyward still doesn’t have a new deal, then the reality of him playing elsewhere has to be considered, but it sure seems as if Heyward and the Steelers will work something out.
Heyward is a team captain and a franchise legend, and he’s not someone who the Steelers are just going to let walk. The team is more than likely going to work out an extension with him before he has the opportunity to walk, but from his end, talking about the possibility of leaving the Steelers only puts more urgency on the side of the team to work something out. We’ll see what happens in the coming months, but it would be a shock if Heyward wasn’t a Steeler in 2025 and beyond.
