Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward is not happy that his team is slated to be on the HBO reality show “Hard Knocks” this season.
The Chicago Bears will be the focus of “Hard Knocks” during training camp, as in traditional seasons of the program. But this fall, the entire AFC North will also be featured in an in-season version of the series.
Heyward expressed his disdain for the upcoming exposure on Saturday’s episode of his “Not Just Football” podcast.
The six-time Pro Bowler said that he “hated it” when he first heard about his team’s 2024 season involvement with “Hard Knocks.” Heyward pointed to the potential for the Steelers locker room “getting messed up” due to the show taking conversations out of context.
“I hated it. I don’t want to be on this,” Heyward said, via Nick Farabaugh of PennLive.
“The locker room is the locker room, and I just don’t want that getting messed up. There’s so many inside jokes, so many people. There’s so many people, like, you would assume everybody’s a jerk if you heard everything. But it comes from a loving place," Heyward explained, "and it comes from a caring place. We all want to be better, and we joke a lot. We poke and prod at each other, but it doesn’t always come off that way. And so, that’s the only thing I really worry about.”
Heyward even talking about the upcoming season at all could be considered good news for Steelers fans.
There have been concerns about the star veteran's future with the Steelers due to his ongoing contract negotiations with the organization. There has even been buzz about Heyward potentially moving on to a division rival.
Heyward is under contract for $22.4 million this season — the final year of the four-year, $65.6 million deal he signed with the Steelers in 2020. He has spent all 13 years of his NFL career in Pittsburgh.
