Category: Cam Heyward

Cam Heyward: Steelers are ‘pissy’ about talk of Pittsburgh’s tradition

Cam Heyward said there’s only ONE tradition the Steelers need to uphold.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a tough team to watch the past few weeks. They’ve been playing below their talent level all season, but the wheels really started to come off with the dreadful Chicago Bears game.

The media, including several former players, have taken the Steelers through the wringer this season. In ESPN’s Ryan Clark’s well-publicized rant, he spoke about how current players don’t fully understand what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or properly uphold Steelers tradition.

“The tradition is winning. We’re all pissy and annoyed about it,” said defensive end Cam Heyward told Steelers media on Thursday. “At the end of the day, the tradition to be upheld is to win the game and play with a lot of effort. Everything else is beside the point.”

With players seemingly going their own way, one reporter asked if tradition can even be upheld during times like these.

“Winning is never going to get evolved,” Heyward said. “That’s the bottom line. At the end of the day, we’re here to win a football game…”

“I know there has been a big deal about freaking music, but I’m done talking about it because at the end of the day, I’m here to play with my teammates, these coaches, everybody in the best position, and it’s my job to lead everybody.”

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Heyward has been the undisputed leader of the Pittsburgh Steelers for many years and captain of the defense since 2014. If any single player has the pulse of a locker room, it’s Heyward.

The Steelers need to take a page from the book of Darryl Drake and shut out the noise. Getting back to winning — what Heyward said is the Steelers tradition — is a good place to start.

We’ll see how the Steelers respond as they play host to AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. EST.

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Steelers DE Cam Heyward tops competition as PFF’s highest-graded defender

Ladies and gents, your highest-graded defender through 6 weeks in the 2021 NFL season is none other than Steelers DE Cam Heyward.

Ladies and gentlemen, your highest-graded defender through six weeks in the 2021 NFL season is none other than Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward.

Heyward’s overall grade, per Pro Football Focus, is 92.3. PFF breaks it down like this:

With 21 tackles (three for loss), 13 stops and a forced fumble, Heyward grades at 91.5 against the run (118 snaps).

In pass-rush duty, Heyward grades at 84.4 with 24 pressures generated (two sacks, one hit, 21 hurries).

What’s equally as impressive is that Heyward beat out Aaron Donald, who was named 2020 AP Defensive Player of the Year for the third time in four seasons.

Donald is already favored to win the coveted distinction in 2021. Wouldn’t it be great if Heyward — a household name only in Pittsburgh — was named 2021 AP Defensive Player of the Year?! Heyward has certainly been deserving not only this season but the last two.

Yes, I know I’m dreaming.

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Pittsburgh Steelers DE Cam Heyward calls looming roster cuts ‘tricky’

With roster cuts on the way, Cam Heyward is pretty glad he’s not Pittsburgh Steelers GM Kevin Colbert right about now.

I’m thinking that Cam Heyward is pretty glad he’s not Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert right about now.

By the end of August, Colbert and company have the difficult task of cutting the Steelers roster by 32 players.

Impressed with the group of guys on Pittsburgh’s defense, Heyward said roster cuts are going to be tough. “It’s going to be kind of tricky when it comes to cuts and stuff because we have are very deserving and quite special guys,” Heyward told reporters following the Steelers preseason win over the Detroit Lions.

Heyward has been around the Pittsburgh Steelers block 10 times now, so he knows them when he sees them.

“Carlos [Davis] is continuing to grow — not having a real rookie offseason. [Isaiah] Buggs has come a long way. Buggs is doing a good job of stopping the run game.”

Isaiahh Loudermilk, selected by the Steelers in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft, was also highlighted by Heyward. “Loudermilk is willing to learn, he’s going to have his hiccups but the way he takes in information is key for him.”

The young defensive end has had a decent start to his rookie campaign with seven tackles (one for loss), two quarterback hits and a defended pass. In the Steelers win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Loudermilk split a sack with fellow rookie Quincy Roche.

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Steelers announce signing of DT Cam Heyward

It’s official, Cam Heyward is with the Steelers for five more years.

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Last night the news broke that the Pittsburgh Steelers and defensive tackle Cam Heyward were finalizing the details on a massive new contract for Heyward. On Monday morning, the team made it official.

Heyward’s new five-year contract is worth $71.5 million and Heyward is worth every penny. Here’s what head coach Mike Tomlin had to say about Heyward.

Cam is special. It starts with his consistency. You know what you are going to get from Cam. It starts first and foremost with his willingness to be present and engaged and be consistent in every aspect of his life.

The biggest detail of Heyward’s new deal, the guaranteed money, hasn’t been made public yet but even on a per year basis, Heyward is now the highest-paid defensive lineman in the league over the age of 30.

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Cam Heyward and Steelers finalizing massive contract extension

Cam Heyward is finally getting his contract extension.

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There’s no player on the Pittsburgh Steelers more deserving of a huge new contract than defensive tackle Cam Heyward. According to ESPN reporter Jeremy Fowler, this is very close to happening. Fowler is reporting Heyward and the team are finalizing a four-year extension for the stud defensive tackle work a staggering $71.4 million.

Heyward has been one of the most underrated defensive players in the league over the last few seasons. Despite 29 sacks over the last three seasons along with three Pro Bowls and two All-Pros during that stretch, Heyward is rarely discussed among the best defensive linemen in the league.

This new extension keeps Heyward with the Steelers right where he belongs. The Steelers defense was among the very best in the league last season and Heyward’s contributions were a huge part of that, especially with the injury to Stephon Tuitt.

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Steelers Week 10 gut reactions

The Pittsburgh Steelers found a way to win their fourth straight game.

It was ugly but the Pittsburgh Steelers managed to pull off their fourth straight win with a 17-12 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday. The game was hard to watch with the two teams combining for 24 penalties, six turnovers and displaying poor offenses. That being said, here are my gut reactions.

I mentioned the high amount of penalties already, but the offense was absolutely horrid. I’m going to come out and say it. People that are saying Mason Rudolph’s development is similar to Ben Roethlisberger his rookie season are wrong. Rudolph was essentially given the whole 2019 season to prove to the fans, coaches, ownership and his peers that he was the Steelers quarterback of the future, and if anything, there are more questions now about his future than in Week 2. When Roethlisberger was a rookie, he entered his first game in Week 2 at the Ravens and including the playoffs, the Steelers rattled off 15 straight wins on their way to losing the AFC championship game.

Looking back at that season, Roethlisberger was more limited in his pass attempts. Rudolph had 38 attempts Sunday and seems to be limited in effectiveness and productivity. Roethlisberger was assisted by an effective running game, something Rudolph has not been lucky enough to experience. The Steelers averaged 1.6 yards per rush, and the team’s longest run was 8 yards. Rudolph and Roethlisberger are alike in that both have been bolstered by dominate defenses while they attempt to get their footing as an NFL quarterback. Their on-field performances far from parallel one another.

Now that I’ve lashed out at Rudolph’s poor performance, I have to say there’s plenty of blame to go around. The Steelers as a team have not been consistent receivers for Rudolph. Drops are too common. He doesn’t have a run game to set him up in third-and-short situations on a regular basis and just to top things off, if the Steelers manage to move the ball, they usually end up off-setting their production with offensive penalties.

No running game, no receivers, and too many penalties are not the ideal situation for a young quarterback to flourish in. It’s a frustrating situation, which is only emphasized every week because of the defense’s stellar play. When Minkah Fitzpatrick is the Steelers’ best offensive weapon and he’s on defense, changes need to be made.

As bad as the offense has been, the defense continues to impress. They won the turnover battle for the eighth straight game and limited an inconsistent Rams offense to three points. Week 10 was so difficult to pallet, partially because the Steelers offense let the Rams score nine points while the defense held them to three. The defense consistently made big plays, tallying four sacks, four takeaways, three fumbles by the opposing quarterback and a defensive touchdown.

Fitzpatrick has been clutch and showcased rare awareness and ball skills. T.J. Watt entered the game as the highest-graded edge rusher in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, one point above the Chicago Bears’ Khalil Mack. Watt tallied five tackles and two sacks against the Rams. Steve Nelson has been a shutdown corner across from Joe Haden, helping shut out Cooper Kupp on Sunday.

Just to top it off, defensive captain Cameron Heyward entered the day as the third-highest graded interior defensive lineman at PFF and was extremely disruptive. He had three tackles, a sack, two passes defended, and three of the Steelers’ nine quarterback hits. Even that impressive stat line doesn’t sum up just how dominant he was at the point of attack. With the Steelers winning four in a row, the NFL has to wonder just how good this defense truly is.

The Steelers leave the friendly confines of Heinz Field on a short week to play the Cleveland Browns on national TV Thursday night. The Browns got their third win of the year in Week 10 at home against a surging Buffalo Bills team. But their offensive line has been extremely shaky, which has forced Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield force the ball downfield under pressure. Mayfield is second in the NFL with 12 interceptions thrown. Don’t look now, but the Steelers are vying for an AFC wild-card spot.

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