Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward skipped most of the voluntary portion of the teams' OTA phase of the offseason while seeking a new contract. He did not think that an agreement on a new contract was imminent back then, and in a recent interview, he did not sound optimistic about the negotiations.
“I don't wanna say how likely something is 'cause you just never know,” Cameron Heyward said on The Jim Rome Show, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. “Obviously, I would love to be a Pittsburgh Steeler for the rest of my career. Getting a contract would lay claim to that. My goal is to be a Pittsburgh Steeler this year and have a good year to hopefully come back and play more games with them.”
Heyward is entering the final year of his four-year, $65.6 million deal, in which he is accounting for just over $22 million on the cap for the Steelers this season, according to Spotrac. He is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this upcoming season.
This will be Heyward's 14th year in the NFL, with all of his years so far being spent with the Steelers. In his years, with Pittsburgh, he has made the Pro Bowl six times and has been selected First-Team All-Pro three times. Last season, Heyward played in 11 games and recorded two sacks, which was down from the total of 10.5 in 17 games in 2022, according to Pro Football Reference.
Despite missing time in 2023 due to injury, Heyward still graded out as a good player, according to Pro Football Focus. He had a 71.9 overall grade with a 67.3 run defense grade and a 64.2 pass rush grade. That is a drop off from his prior seasons which got him Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors, but he was still a solid player. The Steelers might be seeing a bit of a decline in Heyward's game, and it could make sense for them to be careful with a contract extension given that he is entering his age 35 season.\
What is Cameron Heyward's outlook for his next contract?
This upcoming year will be a big one for Heyward, if he is unable to agree to an extension with Pittsburgh. Luckily for the Steelers' his comments indicate that he would not hold out of regular season games. Given that, Heyward will try to rebound, stay healthy and get back to being one of the more dominant interior defensive lineman in the league this year.
If Heyward has a bounce back year both health and performance wise, it could net him a short extension with the Steelers that pays him a high average annual value.
If the Steelers decide that they want to move on from Heyward after the 2024 season, he did say, “if it comes to it I will play in another city,” in the appearance on The Jim Rome Show. He did mention having family in Cleveland, but does not think he could play for a Steelers rival if he does move on.
