Despite Cam Heyward acknowledging the possibility of playing elsewhere to finish his football career, he remains adamant that he wants to remain a Pittsburgh Steeler. Sending that message again Sunday, Heyward tweeted a Father’s Day message that included a desire to never leave the city.
“The goal is to be a Steeler for the rest of my career,” Heyward tweeted, following by his Father’s Day message to all the dads.
His comments come on the heels of Mark Kaboly’s article where Heyward floated the idea of playing for a team other than the Steelers. In Kaboly’s Athletic article, Heyward guaranteed he would play in 2025, even if it wasn’t with Pittsburgh. His contract runs through the 2024 season.
The article also referenced Heyward having family in the Cleveland area, leading some to believe he was hinting at joining the Browns. Heyward replied to one comment to his original tweet, passing on the idea of ever playing for them.
While that door is open, Heyward’s goal has been to get a long-term deal done with the Steelers. And it should be clear and obvious that’s always been his intent. It’s why he skipped the first two weeks of voluntary OTAs, sending a message to the organization over his desire for one final contract.
Heyward has previously stated a goal to play three more years, presumably taking him through the 2026 and his age-37 season. It would be a rare feat for an interior defensive lineman, though Calais Campbell can be shown as a recent example. Turning 38 in September, he just signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins and posted 6.5 sacks for the Atlanta Falcons a year ago.
Pittsburgh and Heyward’s camp have had brief talks over an extension, but Heyward noted that a deal wasn’t close to getting done. The next five weeks could prove pivotal to his hopes of agreeing to a contract. Under Omar Khan, the Steelers have tried to get most of their extensions done prior to training camp compared to Kevin Colbert, who often did his deals in August or early September.
Nothing prevents the team from agreeing to a deal once camp starts though it’ll be interesting to see if Heyward holds-in once the team reports to Latrobe. Heyward told reporters he’s undecided of his camp plans should he not have a new deal. However, Khan has repeated that the team won’t stray from its policy of not doing deals once the year begins, setting a true Sept. 7 deadline for the two sides to figure something out.
