Is a healthy Cameron Heyward still a top-10 interior defensive lineman in 2024?
Every Yinzer and their grandmother has an opinion on Cameron Heyward going into his 14th season. A perennial Pro Bowler for much of his career, the Steelers great battled injures last season to disappointing results. Now in the final year of his contract, due $16 million at age 35, he wants a new deal.
The question that the Steelers must ask themselves is the one posed above. Assuming that he is healthy, is Cameron Heyward still a top-10 interior defensive lineman in 2024? That is the starting point, anyway, especially if also weighing the possibility of an extension. You also have to ask how likely he is to stay healthy, possibly for multiple years, and how he sustains his level of play during that time.
But for now, we’re talking about the 2024 season and not worrying about his contract. Put simply, who are the Steelers getting this season. If Heyward is healthy as he has typically been for most of his career, is he still a dominant player?
The Steelers need him to be because, frankly, without that, this defensive line leaves much to be desired. Larry Ogunjobi has not emerged as much more than an average player, particularly in terms of production. Keeanu Benton is an exciting young player, but how many snaps can they get out of him? And he is playing nose tackle, not defensive end, so how does that translate into replacing Heyward?
Between 2017 and 2022, Heyward averaged 8.9 sacks a season with 66 tackles, 12.2 tackles for loss, one fumble, and 4.7 passes defensed. He also managed two interceptions during that time. Is he capable of putting up a stat line in that vicinity if he plays a full season in 2024?
The Steelers’ 2023 season has been put out of its misery, ending as so many have before in recent years: a disappointing, blowout playoff loss. The only change-up lately is when they miss the playoffs altogether. But with the Buffalo Bills stamping them out in the Wild Card Round, they have another long offseason ahead.
The biggest question hanging over the team is the quarterback question. Does Russell Wilson make them a Super Bowl-caliber team, or are they wasting a year? Will he play just one season in Pittsburgh before moving on, or the Steelers moving on from him? How will the team address the depth chart?
The Steelers are past free agency and the draft and their roster for the 2024 season is coming into focus. They made numerous moves through signings and trade—and release. More than usual, they seemed comfortable creating holes, confident they can fill them. Now that we have so many pieces of the puzzle, however, we merely have a new set of questions to ask.
