The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2025 offseason practices concluded in the middle of June and next up is the team’s annual training camp, which will get underway in the latter part of July at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. Ahead of that, we will preview the team’s offseason roster three players at a time. This Steelers roster preview, which includes an outlook for every player, will be done alphabetically by last name to make it easy to follow. This series figures to exceed 90 players as the team can carry 91 players during the offseason due to the allowance of one international player designation.
The next three players we will preview ahead of Steelers 2025 training camp are Nick Herbig, Cameron Heyward, and Connor Heyward.
OLB Nick Herbig: In his second NFL season, Herbig did manage to take a step forward in his overall play for the Steelers. He even started five games in 2024 due to injuries sustained by OLB Alex Highsmith. All told, Herbig logged 415 defensive snaps in 2024 despite missing four regular season games due to a hamstring injury.
For the 2024 regular season, Herbig registered 22 total tackles, five tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries. He also once again played on both sides of the defensive line in 2024. Even so, most of his snaps came as a right outside linebacker in 2024.
Herbig’s run defense and tackling both took a step backwards in 2024 and that was a bit concerning and needs attention this summer. As a pass rusher, however, Herbig continued to show that he can get to opposing quarterbacks quite regularly and in meaningful situations as well.
Herbig also logged 174 special teams snaps in 2024, which was way down from his 2023 count. He was not credited for any special teams tackles in 2024 and just one fumble recovery as part of those units.
Outlook: Even though the Steelers did draft another outside linebacker this year in the form of Jack Sawyer, Herbig still should enter the 2025 season as the team’s third player on the depth chart in that position group. He should once again see plenty of defensive snaps in 2025 as a rotational player in order to give starters T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith some plays off during contests.
While he’s already shown that he can effectively rush the passer in his first two NFL seasons, Herbig still could improve in that area of his game in 2025 and especially if he gets a little bit stronger. He has quite a nose for the football as a pass rusher as well so at least a half a dozen sacks and a few quarterback strips should be expected out of the Wisconsin product in 2025, especially if he’s able to avoid injuries. As far as Herbig’s run defense goes moving forward, that’s the area of his game that needs the most improvement in 2025.
It will be interesting to see how much Herbig will be used on special teams in 2025. While he will be part of a few of those third phase units, he might not be a core player like he was during his 2023 rookie season.
Herbig has great mentors to continue to learn from in Watt and Highsmith so his 2025 season should be fun to watch. If he can improve his run defense in 2025 while continuing to show progress as a pass rusher, the Steelers might just consider signing him to a somewhat lucrative contract extension next summer. He’s an easy player to root for and the Steelers found a valuable gem in him a few years ago.
DT Cameron Heyward: On the heels of him signing a two-year contract extension last summer, Cameron Heyward then proceeded to beat Father Time during the 2024 season. In fact, Cameron Heyward beat Father Time quite soundly in 2024 on his way to registering 71 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, eight sacks, 20 quarterback hits, and 11 passes defensed.
Cameron Heyward registered his excellent 2024 stat line in only 778 defensive snaps played as well. It should also not go unrecognized that he played in every game last season for the Steelers after missing six contests in 2023 due to a groin injury. He looked as healthy and as strong as ever in 2024 and his pass rush part of his game last season was quite possibly one of the best we have seen for his NFL career. At the very least when it comes to his game-to-game consistency.
Cameron Heyward’s stellar play during the 2024 season resulted in him once again being named a First-Team All-pro and Pro Bowler. He accomplished that feat at 35 years of age as well. As usual, Cameron Heyward was a team captain on defense for the Steelers in 2024 and that’s a role he’s learned to handle quite well over the course of the last several seasons.
In summation, Cameron Heyward proved a lot of his doubters and detractors wrong in 2024 and he’ll now look to do that again in 2025.
Outlook: The outlook, or at least hope, for Cameron Heyward for the 2025 season is really quite simple. It starts with betting on, or hoping, that he can repeat his incredible 2024 season. For a player of his age, that would be quite incredible.
The Steelers will hopefully be able to give Cameron Heyward a few more snaps off in 2025. Fewer snaps during the 2025 season could also be achieved by the entire defense getting off to faster starts in games. That’s certainly something the defense wasn’t able to do in 2024 and the points allowed in the first quarter really reflect that.
All told, it’s not unthinkable that Cameron Heyward could have another Pro Bowl and All-Pro season in 2025. 11.5 sacks should be his goal in 2025 as that would give him 100 for his long NFL career. His career best for single-season sacks is 12, however, so 11.5 might be a little bit of a big ask.
As part of his 2025 season, Cameron Heyward will need to mentor rookie DT Derrick Harmon, who is likely to become the leader of the defensive line after the Steelers old-timer finally retires. The Steelers’ defensive line has an opportunity to be one of the best in the NFL in 2025 and Cameron Heyward needs to be a huge part of that ultimately coming to fruition.
TE Connor Heyward: While Connor Heyward was once again able to play in every game for Steelers in 2024, his third consecutive season doing so, overall, it was a down year for him and especially in the offensive production category.
In total, Connor Heyward logged just a little more than 200 offensive snaps during the regular season on his way to registering just six receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown. Nearly half of his 2024 receiving yards came on one catch and he only had two receptions for 11 yards in the team’s final 11 games. Heyward was used a bit more in a fullback alignment in 2024 and overall logged 82 of his offensive snaps from the backfield.
Connor Heyward, however, remained a primary player on special teams in 2024 and that was to be expected based on his first two NFL seasons. In total, Connor Heyward logged 303 special teams snaps in 2024 and that tied him for the team lead with S Miles Killebrew in that category. He recorded eight total special teams tackles in 2024 and one fumble recovery.
While Connor Heyward’s overall blocking was slightly improved in 2024, especially in the passing game, his run blocking still was not where you would like to see it with him being a tight end.
Outlook: For the last few seasons, Connor Heyward has usually been regarded by most as a roster lock at this point of the offseason. This offseason that certainly doesn’t seem to be the case and especially on the heels of Connor Heyward logging just 207 offensive snaps in 2024 with then-new OC Arthur Smith calling the shots for that unit. Had fellow TE MyCole Pruitt not missed five games in 2024 due to injuries, Connor Heyward likely would have played even fewer snaps.
Connor Heyward’s usage in the passing game in 2024 was beyond minimal and a bit surprising based on how good of hands that he has. While Connor Heyward is a fine pass catcher, his run blocking still leaves a lot to be desired. At this point of his career, Connor Heyward is who he is as a blocker and offensive weapon. It’s hard to imagine him playing 200 offensive snaps in 2025 should he ultimately make the 53-man roster once again.
The main calling card for Connor Heyward to date has been his play on special teams as a core member of multiple units. That phase of his overall game is what will likely give him his best shot at making the 53-man roster again this summer. The Steelers are likely to keep at least four tight ends on their 53-man roster for the regular season and so Connor Heyward figures to battle some younger tight end/fullback options under contract for one of those few open spots.
Previous Posts In This Series:
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Calvin Anderson, Spencer Anderson, Calvin Austin III
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Keeanu Benton, Beanie Bishop Jr., Yahya Black
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Chris Boswell, Nick Broeker, Carson Bruener
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Sebastian Castro, Dylan Cook, Domenique Davis
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Brandin Echols, Daniel Ekuale, DeShon Elliott
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Troy Fautanu, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Zach Frazier
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Pat Freiermuth, Kenneth Gainwell, JJ Galbreath
90 In 30: Steelers 2025 Training Camp Preview Series — Derrick Harmon, Devin Harper, Malik Harrison
