Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro defensive tackle Cameron Heyward suited up and participated in team activities for the first time on Tuesday since missing training camp and preseason games in a hold-in over his contract.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said Heyward was involved in team sessions after he was observed earlier in uniform and active in individual practice periods. Heyward, who was not made available to media, had attended some earlier practices in street clothes since training camp opened this month.
Reports on Tuesday did not say the change indicated progress in Heyward’s contract situation. The seven-time Pro Bowl selection talked to reporters on Aug. 11 and said that he wanted to be paid more this season after a career year in 2024, when he made first-team All-Pro honors for the fourth time.
Heyward signed a two-year, $29 million extension with the Steelers last September. It keeps him with the team through the 2026 season.
Defensive player salaries have spiked upwards and Pittsburgh linebacker T.J. Watt received a three-year, $123 million deal in the offseason with $108 million guaranteed. The $41 million annual average set a record for defensive players.
The 36-year-old Heyward wants his piece of the financial pie. He has spent his entire career in Pittsburgh since the Steelers selected him in the first round (31st overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft.
Heyward had 71 tackles, eight sacks and a career-high 11 pass breakups last season — the latter of which led all defensive linemen in the league.
“I’m looking to be valued,” Heyward said on Aug. 11. “… I know what I bring to this team and what I’m capable of on and off the field, so it’s hard for me, after the year I’ve had (in 2024), to really justify playing at the number I’m playing at.
“I understand. I signed a contract last year, but to be completely honest with you, when I signed that, I told him when I have an All-Pro year expecting me to come back and you can look at the contract and see what it was. But I think everybody kind of giggled a little bit, but in my head, I used it as motivation to go out there and prove it.”
Heyward has 88.5 career sacks in 211 games (176 starts). He will likely warrant heavy Pro Football Hall of Fame consideration after his career ends.
–Field Level Media
