For Cam Heyward, it’s status quo three weeks ahead of reporting to Latrobe for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 training camp. By the time that date hits, he hopes things have changed. Joining Jim Rome on the Jim Rome Show Wednesday afternoon, Heyward indicated that there hasn’t been movement in his pursuit of a contract extension with the team. It leaves him a pending free agent after the season with an uncertain future.
“I don’t wanna say how likely something is ’cause you just never know,” Heyward said when asked about his contract situation. “Obviously, I would love to be a Pittsburgh Steeler for the rest of my career. Getting a contract would lay claim to that. My goal is to be a Pittsburgh Steeler this year and have a good year to hopefully come back and play more games with them.”
Heyward has angled for an extension since before the team began its voluntary OTAs in May. For the first time, he skipped most of those workouts, though he showed up during the final week to attend a pair of practices. He also attended the team’s mandatory minicamp, though he did not practice on at least one of those days.
As he’s committed to in previous interviews and on his Not Just Football podcast, Heyward plans to play football in 2025 for someone, even if that’s not the Steelers.
“Obviously, I’d like to be in Pittsburgh,” he told Rome. “But if it comes to it, I will play in another city.”
One city you can count out is Cleveland. Though he made overtures about it in an interview with The Athletic, noting he has family in the city, he confirmed he has zero intentions of ever wearing a Browns uniform.
“I would never want to play for, not only a rival but a team [where] there’s such bad blood there,” he said. “I don’t think I could do that.”
He reiterated that his wife, despite being from Cleveland, has no desire for Cam Heyward to play there, either.
Last month, Heyward tweeted to clear the air, stating that he wants to be in Pittsburgh the rest of his career. He’s told reporters he wants to play three more years.
Nothing prevents the Steelers from inking Heyward to a long-term deal once camp begins. But July 24 and 25 are initial lines in the sand. The 24th is the day they report, the 25th the first day of practice. If Heyward doesn’t have the deal he wants by then, he’ll need to decide if he’ll hold-in and decline to practice, keeping at least outward pressure on the team. Or if his posture will change of not getting a deal and potentially playing out his final season in Pittsburgh.
