Pittsburgh Steelers Exit Meeting: DL Cameron Heyward
Experience: 14 Years
It’s hard to believe that Cameron Heyward is already 14 years into his Steelers career. It might even be harder to believe that it’s still going, for perhaps a few more years. After all, he was one of the best interior defenders in the NFL last season. Many wrote him off as washed up, but he silenced doubters with his play in 2024.
For the fourth time in his career, Heyward earned first-team All-Pro honors, for the first time since 2021. He has made the Pro Bowl every season since 2017 sans 2023, when he missed time due to injury. But the reality is the only time he doesn’t play well is when he isn’t healthy.
Heyward has only missed a game due to injury in two seasons—2016 and 2023. Both times, he came back with a vengeance. It was after his first major injury in 2016 that he truly blossomed. And he has hardly slowed down since then, except for his last major injury.
In 2023, Cameron Heyward injured his groin in training camp. He was still ailing going into the regular season and then aggravated it during the opener. After missing several games, he returned but played at a diminished level while still injured.
Perhaps partly because the Steelers were smart about managing his snaps last season, Heyward seemed to stay fresh all year. And he played some of his best ball, registering 71 tackles with 12 for loss, eight sacks, and 11 passes defensed.
Some argue that with his 2024 season, Cameron Heyward cemented his place in the Pro Hall of Fame. With seven Pro Bowls and five All-Pros, he has to be in consideration. To date, he has 718 tackles, 133 for loss, with 88.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, two interceptions, and 58 passes defensed.
A year ago, most people argued the Steelers would be making a mistake if they extended Heyward. In hindsight, it’s quite possible that the Steelers were smart because they locked him up cheaper. It’s much more affordable to sign a 34-year-old coming off a major injury than a 35-year-old first-team All-Pro.
The Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves at home, the inevitable result of another early playoff exit. This is a repeated pattern for the organization, with no clear end in sight. As the Steelers conduct their own exit meetings, we will go down the roster conducting our own. Who should stay, and who should go, and how? Who should expect a bigger role next season, and who might deserve a new contract? We’ll explore those questions and more in these articles, part of an annual series.
