Steelers A to Z: Cameron Heyward wants a new contract, but will he get one?

Editor’s note: From now until the first practice of training camp at Saint Vincent College, TribLive is running through the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 90-man roster, looking at each player and assessing his outlook for the 2024 season. The breakdown will run in alphabetical order with at least two players each day between June 14 and July 25. Contract data courtesy spotrac.com.

DT CAMERON HEYWARD

Experience/age: 13^th season, 35

Contract status: $22.4 million cap hit in 2024, after which scheduled for unrestricted free agency

The past: Heyward has established himself as an all-time Steeler. His résumé is the type that likely has him inducted into the franchise’s Hall of Honor as soon as he’s eligible. If he appears in only half of the Steelers’ games this season he will rank fourth in games played in team history (he’s seventh with 194 right now). Pro-football-reference.com’s Approximate Value metric isn’t perfect (nothing can be in comparing players from varied positions across eras) but it lists Heyward as the 10^th-most valuable player in Steelers history. The instant Heyward appears in any game this season – his 14^th with the team – it will mean that only two men (Mike Webster and Ben Roethlisberger) have had longer tenures with the Steelers.

Last season was arguably the least productive of any Heyward has played since he became a starter in 2013. A groin injury that lingered after a return to action contributed to Heyward at age 34 accumulating just two sacks and 33 tackles in 11 games. But his six Pro Bowl berths, three times named a first-team AP NFL All Pro and once as a second-team All Pro speak to Heyward’s greatness. His status as a long-time captain and the reigning Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award winner speak to his admired status off the field.

2024 outlook: But will 2024 be his final season for the Steelers? Can it possibly turn ugly between him and the organization? That Heyward is on an expiring contract and has publicly campaigned for a lucrative extension suggest that either is possible. Heyward is on record that he believes even at age 35 that he is a “top five player at (his) position” and that he wants to play three more years.

Heyward is due $16 million for this season. Eleven defensive tackles across the league – as things stand now – will be paid more. Four contracts signed by defensive tackles this past year alone are valued at $24 million per season. Heyward in no uncertain terms believes he should be next.

But for all Heyward has done for the Steelers on and off the field, paying big money for any player’s age 36 and 37 seasons is reason to give pause. And particularly non-quarterbacks (or specialists). Doubly so for a player coming off a “down” statistical season, and orders of magnitude moreso for a 35-year-old player coming off an unproductive season who’s been dealing with a lingering soft tissue injury.

The initial primary storyline about Heyward will center around his contract status for the rest of the summer. No matter how that is resolved before the season begins, come September it will be Heyward’s play on the field showing how much he still deserves to be compensated like one of the NFL’s best interior defensive linemen.