The Pittsburgh Steelers don’t seem to have much of an appetite to give star defensive lineman and team captain Cameron Heyward what he’s asking for amid his hold-in, but cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay are comfortable applying pressure publicly for their new teammate.
After being taken care of financially after a trade from the Miami Dolphins, and signing in free agency after winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles, both Slay and Ramsey are willing to stand on the table for Heyward. Coming off a first-team All-Pro season, Heyward is asking for a contract restructure and a raise.
Though he signed a two-year, $29 million extension last September, Heyward says he can’t justify playing on the salary he’s at in 2025, especially after the Steelers initially asked him to take a pay cut last summer coming off an injury-filled 2023 season.
Talks haven’t gone anywhere though, and the Steelers don’t seem like they want to pay Heyward, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
So, Ramsey and Slay are speaking up. Appearing on the latest episode of Not Just Football with Cam Heyward that published Friday morning, Ramsey had a message for Steelers GM Omar Khan.
“We need all of y’all out there, man. Mr. Omar, yeah, man. Got a lot of respect for you, Mr. Omar. You took, you taking care of me, T.J. [Watt], Slay. Cam is next,” Ramsey said, according to video via the show’s YouTube page. “We’re excited, man. We got potential to do something great if we got all our guys out there happy and feeling like they’re valued.
“I know a little something about feeling valued and getting what you deserve. So, yeah, I’m with you. I’m with you.”
Typically, teammates don’t comment publicly on another player’s contract situation. There’s no pocket watching going on with players, but this feels different. Obviously Heyward is a valued member of the team and of the Pittsburgh community. He’s facing a great deal of backlash though for how the contract situation has played out since Schefter’s Aug. 7 report.
Heyward spoke to the media a few days later, and his words about feeling undervalued and wanting to be paid what he feels he’s worth didn’t quite land with the fan base the way he was hoping.
But, Ramsey and Slay have his back.
“You took a big toll on me coming here, so hey, we need you out there, like now,” Slay said to Heyward. “Tell them stop playing, right now.”
It’s good to see new teammates having Heyward’s back. Of course, those new teammates were already taken care of financially, so they’re secure. And pressure from the likes of Ramsey and Slay might not sway the organization much, though.
Still, it’s good to see a united front. Some in the media might believe that Heyward’s contract situation is a big distraction that is entirely unnecessary at this point, but his teammates have his back and know that even with Heyward conducting a hold-in, he’ll be ready to go once the season starts.
Hopefully the Steelers take care of the franchise pillar before Week 1 so the storyline goes away and Heyward — along with kicker Chris Boswell — gets what he deserves.
Check out the full episode of Not Just Football with Cam Heyward, featuring Ramsey and Slay, below.
