Capitan Cam as he’s been deemed is the heat beat of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization.
The reigning Walter Payton Man of the Year, what Cameron Heyward has brought to the city of Pittsburgh both on and off the field will never be replicated.
So despite his age, hefty contract and recent injury history, the two parties are reportedly looking to solve something for the long term.
Heyward, Steelers in talks for 3-year extension
“We’ve talked about an extension,” Heyward told Steelers Now. “We’ll see what happens. My goal is to play two to three more years. Mostly three. I’m looking for an opportunity. We’ll see what happens. I’d like it to be here, but my goal is to play. So we’ll see.”
Heyward is coming off only the second season of his career that saw him play in 15 or fewer games the first of which since 2015. Battling a groin issue that required in-season surgery and forced him to miss over six weeks of action, Heyward wasn’t himself when he returned, but he was still a force.
The defense performed noticeably better against the run, and that was all the while Heyward was “playing on one leg,” as he would describe himself after the season.
The recently turned 35-year-old had clean-up surgery earlier in the offseason and looks to be in full form come training camp.
But approaching the final year of his deal, some in and around the league questioned not only if this would be Heyward’s final season with the Steelers, but if he would even make it there.
That’s because Heyward poses one of the largest salaries on the team, with Pittsburgh shelling out a $22.4 million cap hit for the upcoming season, leaving some to wonder if Pittsburgh would part ways with the Steel City icon.
But that always seemed like a stretch. The NFL is a cold business and GMs and owners make shrewd moves on the daily, but there are some players you just don’t mess with and Captain Cam is one of them.
I’m not sure how long it will be before Heyward and the Steelers come to terms, but following this report, it feels more like a matter of when, not if Heyward receives a new deal.
