The Pittsburgh Steelers enter 2024 training camp with minimal drama surrounding the team. There seems to be no distractions, aside from some extension talks surrounding Cam Heyward and Pat Freiermuth, and what could be an interesting quarterback competition. Freiermuth likely has a better chance to be extended than Heyward, who is entering his 14th season and is coming off of a disappointing year that was full of injuries. Despite all this, General Manager Omar Khan is confident in Heyward's future.
Heyward made his desire for an extension known earlier in the offseason. He initially didn't attend Organized Team Activities (OTAs) as a way of “holding out,” but eventually made an appearance. Some were skeptical he would report to camp, but he is a leader and a good teammate that was on the field Thursday. Khan was asked about Heyward's future and a potential extension during his press conference after the Steelers first practice of training camp.
"I think Cam's got a lot of football ahead of him still, and I'll leave it at this, I expect him to be here for years to come."
Amidst discussing the desire for a new extension, Heyward made it clear he plans to play past the 2024 season. His contract in Pittsburgh expires at the end of the year, and he has said he is warming up to the idea of playing for another organization. Heyward had a down year in 2023, yet Khan has nothing but confidence in him going into 2024 which he explained in his press conference.
"Last year he had a rough stretch there, but I'm confident in the way he works. You know, Cam, the person, the player obviously, I have no doubt that Cam has a lot of football left."
Heyward played his least amount of games in a season since 2016 in 2023, only suiting up 11 times during the regular season. He suffered a groin injury in Week 1 against the San Francisco 49ers, and never truly seemed to be 100 percent after that. If he bounces back and the Steelers don' extend him before the season begins, he could be looking at a decent pay day after the season concludes.
The veteran only played in seven games during the 2016 season and didn't really have any other injury issues until 2023. He didn't have any individual accolades before 2016, but came back from his injury and went on the best run of his career. He went six straight seasons of either being named a Pro Bowler, an All-Pro, or both.
He is now older, so coming back from injuries is much harder. However, he had a couple corrective surgeries during the offseason which has gotten him back to feeling like his old self. Time will tell throughout training camp and the preseason about how Heyward is feeling, and he could earn himself an extension before the regular season kicks off.
Steelers Extension For Heyward Would Likely Be Short
Heyward is currently 35, and is definitely entering the last few years of his career. If he wants to play out his career as a Steeler, a one or two-year extension would make the most sense for the time being. He would probably prefer the two-year option to ensure more security moving forward. The financial side of an extension like this is a little unclear. Heyward has been a staple of the Steelers for more than a decade, but the organization isn't going to break the bank to keep him around.
Coming off a year where he didn't perform well, many might expect Heyward to be willing to take a team-friendly deal. Especially as a player who wants to win, he should want the organization to have as much financial freedom as possible to acquire more talent. Pittsburgh doesn't conduct any contract business during the season, so an extension would need to get done before September 8th.
