Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward finds himself under the bright spotlight entering the 2024 season as he wants a new contract coming off an injury-marred season that limited him to just 12 games and 2 sacks on the year.
After sitting out the early portion of voluntary Organized Team Activities in late May and early June, Heyward put some heat on himself with comments about wanting a new contract from the Steelers, stating he wants to play three more years and wants to feel valued at his position. Heyward even said that he’s starting to come to grips with the reality of possibly playing elsewhere in 2025.
The attention paid to Heyward so far this offseason has created plenty of questions about the franchise pillar, with some seemingly turning on him and doubting his abilities, at least in the media and fan base.
Defensive line coach Karl Dunbar will do no such doubting. Speaking with reporters during mandatory minicamp last week, Dunbar said he knows Heyward is going to be the player that he wants to be in 2024, period.
“I think if he’s healthy, he’s gonna be good,” Dunbar said of Heyward, according to video via the Post-Gazette on YouTube. “I mean, he’s out here running around doing some good things and I know everybody talks about his age, but I think Cam was built for this.
“He does a great job taking care of his body and you know, our thing is, hey, we have him under contract and he’s going to be here and I know he’s going be the player he wants to be.”
The 2023 season was an aberration for Heyward. Prior to that injury-filled year, Heyward hadn’t missed more than one game in a season since 2016. He was always out on the field, always producing.
Leading into the 2023 season, Heyward was in search of his third straight 10+ sack season, which is quite remarkable from a guy who does most of his work on the interior. But then he got hurt early in training camp, tried to push through it, made it worse in the regular season opener and needed surgery, missing six games.
He wasn’t himself when he returned, though his presence alone was a significant factor. Without Heyward in the lineup last season, the Steelers really struggled to stop the run. Though Pittsburgh went 4-2 in games without Heyward, the run defense was a mess, making life rather hard defensively.
Once Heyward returned, the Steelers took a significant jump from a run defense standpoint.
If he’s fully healthy and can get back to his usual dominant self, the Steelers defense should take a huge step forward against the run, and should be even more of a handful for offenses from a pass-rush perspective.
Fortunately for Heyward, he showed flashes of it in the Wild Card loss to the Buffalo Bills, which was rather encouraging.
Now, he has to prove himself once again in his 14h season. He has the belief and backing from Dunbar. The chip is rather large on Heyward’s shoulder.
