At one point, it was a running joke. Like the summer thought of a Pittsburgh Steelers Pony backfield, the team always preached a desire and plan to reduce DL Cam Heyward’s snaps. Then the season would begin, and that thought would disposed directly into the trash can. Heyward was their anchor, they suffered without him, other players got hurt, and the team did what it had to do to win games. Which meant playing Heyward as often as possible.
Now 35 and coming off an injury-marred 2023 season, the Steelers have finally figured it out.
On the season, Heyward is logging 72 percent of the Steelers’ defensive snaps. If that number holds the rest of the season, it would be his lowest percentage – excluding his 2016 and 2023 injury seasons – since becoming a starter in 2013.
Here are his year-by-year reps.
Cam Heyward’s Snap Counts (2013-2024)
| Year | Cam Heyward Snap % |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 72 Percent |
| 2022 | 75 Percent |
| 2021 | 82 Percent |
| 2020 | 83 Percent |
| 2019 | 81 Percent |
| 2018 | 81 Percent |
| 2017 | 85 Percent |
| 2015 | 88 Percent |
| 2014 | 87 Percent |
| 2013 | 77 Percent |
More than ever, Pittsburgh has smartly managed his reps. Heyward doesn’t practice much during the week, always getting at least one and sometimes two days off per week. He, along with OG Isaac Seumalo and DL Larry Ogunjobi, didn’t practice at all in the lead up to the Cleveland Browns game. Heyward still stays in shape in the pool, HC Mike Tomlin jokes he’s “captain of the swim team,” but the Steelers make sure he’s fresh for gameday.
Which carries over to the game. Pittsburgh’s rotated him more than before and it’s paying off. Heyward is having a fantastic season. Immovable in the run game, still powerful and able to collapse the pocket in the pass game.
Given his age and the injury, the Steelers knew they had no choice. If they want Heyward to make it through his extension, they can’t push him to the brink. Fortunately, they’ve built up enough depth to avoid the fall-off of years past.
Keeanu Benton has been a key sub-package piece, even if he needs refinement as a pass rusher. Still, he’s not a typical run-plugging nose tackle who can’t move in space and win matchups. Let’s observe the number of sub-package reps each have played over their past two fully available seasons (2023 for Benton and Ogunjobi, 2022 and 2024 for Heyward).
Sub-Package Reps (2024 vs. Prior Healthy Year)
| Player | Sub-Package Snap % (2024) | Sub-Package Snap % (Prior Year) |
|---|---|---|
| Cam Heyward | 67.3 Percent | 75.8 Percent |
| Larry Ogunjobi | 51.5 Percent | 67.3 Percent |
| Keeanu Benton | 43.6 Percent | 27.5 Percent |
Ogunjobi’s lost the most ground, he’s a free agent unlikely to return, but Heyward’s snaps have decreased, too. Benton’s share has increased by 16 percent.
Last year, he logged just 27.5 percent of the team’s sub-package (1 or 2 DL) snaps, a figure that fell to 25.8 percent once Heyward returned in Week 9. This year? That number has shot up to 43.6 percent, eating into Heyward and Larry Ogunjobi’s reps. Last year, Ogunjobi sat at 67.3 percent. In 2024, he’s at 51.5 percent. For Heyward, in his last fully healthy season in 2022, he played 75.8 percent of those sub reps. In 2024, he’s down to 68.4percent.
Even true base-defense reps have been more manageable with DE Isaiahh Loudermilk playing a Nick Eason/Travis Kirschke role as competent run defender. Even Dean Lowry’s made a couple of plays, seeing additional work as the de facto backup NT with Montravius Adams hurt.
It’s the right mix. Heyward’s still playing a lot and in key situations. But he’s staying fresh in-game and, just as importantly, for the home stretch of the season for a Steelers team likely playing on Wild Card weekend. And hopefully beyond.
