As several veteran players did last year in recruiting Russell Wilson, it sounds like there was at least some contact with WR DK Metcalf leading up to the trade to convince him to come to Pittsburgh. Who better to make the pitch than Cam Heyward, one of the team captains and the longest-standing member of the Pittsburgh Steelers?
Heyward told a brief story of his contact with Metcalf prior to the trade via his Not Just Football with Cam Heyward podcast this morning.
“I was in California at the time, and I heard DK was in town, and then someone was like, ‘Oh he’s going to the Chargers,’ ” Heyward said. “And so I hit up one of my friends Tracy Perlman and she was like, ‘Yeah, I hear he might be going.’ I’m like, ‘Text DK. Tell him to come with us.’ And then like in the next week, he was already with us. I don’t know how that happened, but DK was all about it.”
Metcalf was asked which teammates he had heard from since the trade during a one-on-one interview with Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews, and Heyward was the first person he listed. During his introductory press conference, Metcalf cited Mike Tomlin as a major reason why he chose Pittsburgh.
“I didn’t do anything. Please, please do not give me credit,” Heyward said. “It was all Omar [Khan] and Mike T.”
If nothing else, this gives us a pretty good indication of how close Metcalf was to potentially landing elsewhere, which would have dramatically shifted the rest of the Steelers’ free agency and draft plans.
Heyward wears a lot of hats for the Steelers. Defensive lineman and team captain are his official titles, but he’s been getting into the world of recruiting during free agency. He also discusses draft prospects in this episode. He hinted at some light consulting work and scouting d-line prospects to give his opinion to the team on who might be a fit for the Steelers. That is what happens when you are entering your 15th season with the team, which spans almost all of Mike Tomlin’s tenure as the head coach.
Once Heyward moves on from his football career, he seems to be gearing toward a life in media. But I think he’d make a pretty good addition to the front office or Tomlin’s staff, coaching or scouting, much like Mean Joe Greene did for years after his Hall of Fame career.
