Cam Heyward and his three-year contract extension is a feel-good story. The man born in Pittsburgh, raised in Atlanta, coming back to the Burgh and being the rare “one-helmet” guy for his career. The poetic justice of going back to Georgia this weekend for his first game off his contract. The place he grew up, where his father played and now rests, the stadium where brother Connor caught his first touchdown (in very similar fashion to his dad’s first receiving score). That makes Tuesday’s news all the sweeter.
But Heyward’s new deal isn’t just a feel-good story. It isn’t the gold watch for 30 years of hard work. It’s not charity for being a great player, a great teammate, a standout member of the community. It’s for what Heyward is and still projects to be – a stout and tough interior defensive lineman worth the money.
I get the concerns. He’s 35. Coming off groin surgery. Father Time and his forever spotless record. This isn’t to wave away all the worry and assume the next three years will be sunshine and roses. But understand that the contract’s structure, despite its big numbers, provides Pittsburgh with easy “outs” should Heyward fall off a cliff. That should calm the nerves.
But if Heyward couldn’t play, this deal wouldn’t have happened. Even in the mess that was last year, injured and returning on one leg, Heyward still had his moments. He was Pittsburgh’s best defensive lineman and its strongest run defender. When he came back, the Steelers’ run-d immediately improved. Without him, Pittsburgh ranked 27th in yards per carry allowed. With him back from Weeks 9-12, even at 70 percent, the Steelers were seventh-best in yards per carry against.
It wasn’t just causation, either. When we looked at the data after the season, teams averaged 5.2 yards running away from Heyward. When running at him, that number cratered to 2.7 YPC. Run-success rate showed similar tracks, about 40 percent at him and over 55 percent away from him. Even at his age, I’m confident that Heyward can still stop the run, the prime objective for the Steelers’ defense, one that makes everything else work.
Rushing the passer comes with more projection. Heyward was not good there last year with a low-pressure rate, one every 30.1 rush snaps. He couldn’t fire off the ball and couldn’t convert his first step into power. Now healthy, that explosiveness should come back and was evident during camp, the six-time Pro Bowler toying with rookie OG Mason McCormick one day after he graduated to face the “boss” in Heyward.
I’m as realistic as I am optimistic. His days of double-digit sacks are probably over. Heyward, with his chip on his shoulder, would probably disagree, but this is one area where history is too tough to ignore. The only real example of an interior lineman at his age to do so was Steve McMichael in the early 1990s. The precedent simply isn’t there. Warren Sapp, John Randle, even the names who played at and past Heyward’s age saw diminishing returns. With an emerging Keeanu Benton and hopefully the team having some desire to reduce Heyward’s snap count even by 10 percent, a 6-7 sack season is more realistic.
Still, that’s a fine number to hit in a defense with so much other pass-rush talent. A top trio in T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, and Nick Herbig. Benton and Larry Ogunjobi up front, the latter needing to prove himself but looking healthier than ever. Guys like LBs Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts eager to rush in. Heyward no longer has to do all the heavy lifting.
The point is, Cam Heyward can still play. A game built on power lasts longer than one built on speed. Strength ages like wine, quickness ages like milk. It would make Heyward an exception to be an impact player at 35, 36, 37 years old. But he’s already been an exception in so many ways. Doing what he’s done the past few years is rare, two of his three double-digit sack seasons coming at age 32 and 33. Not making a Pro Bowl his first six years and then rattling off six in a row. That’s largely because of him sitting and waiting his turn behind Brett Keisel, Aaron Smith, and the gang, but still, he’s already broken through the ceiling of expectations.
Of his 2011 draft class, a legendary group of first rounders, the only ones who are still active and starting are EDGE Von Miller, DE Cam Jordan, and Heyward. Why can’t Heyward go on to defy things a few more years? He can’t beat Father Time, but he can put up one hell of a fight.
And if it does go south, Pittsburgh can bail. The salary cap will continue to rise, and the Steelers can eat the dead money hit. It won’t be a fun experience, but it’ll be a footnote on their ledger. It won’t do irreparable harm to the franchise. The contract is built to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Predicting how the next three years go is impossible. But I’m as confident as anyone that this is the right move. Not just from the goodwill and PR that comes with it, the Steelers continuing to plant their flag that they take care of their own, but from the football side of things, too. This is a contract worth it based on the past, present, and future of Cam Heyward. The franchise won’t regret it.
