One of the best interior defenders in the league for a long time, Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward is nearing the end of an outstanding career. According to Heyward’s own admission, he might have already played his last NFL game.
Heyward stated, “First and foremost, I have to see how my body feels,” in response to a question earlier this week about his future plans. According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Ray Fittipaldo, “It’s been a rough season.”
In fact, Heyward’s groin injury suffered in Week 1 limited his playing time to 11 games this season, marking 2023 as the first year he has missed any meaningful action since a seven-game stint in 2016. Additionally, he has performed noticeably worse; Pro Football Focus gave him an overall grade of 69.8, which is strong but well below the elite levels he has reached in prior seasons. That is, in fact, Heyward’s lowest grade since his injury-shortened 2016 campaign, in which he received a 66.5.
The surface-level statistics are similarly deficient; even if they were averaged across a complete season, the two sacks, 33 tackles, and six tackles for loss he recorded this year would still be far short of his 2021–22 totals. That poor play together with a season ruined by a challenging injury should definitely discourage Heyward from coming back for his age-35 campaign in 2024.
Conversely, the 2011 first-round selection has been recognized for his Pro Bowl performance in each of the previous six seasons, which also includes three selections to the First Team All-Pro. Therefore, if he can overcome his health issues from this season, he might still have one or two great years remaining in him.
He is also bound by a contract that expires in 2024, albeit it does not guarantee his $16 million basic pay for that year. Due to bonus prorations, he will have a $22.41MM cap charge, which the Steelers may not be able to pay. In the event that Heyward decides to play on, the organization may look into giving him a pay cut or giving him a short deal that would reduce his cap hit.
Pittsburgh defeated Baltimore in yesterday’s regular season finale to maintain its hopes of making the playoffs. But in order for the team to make the playoffs, one of the Bills or Jaguars must lose their Week 18 games today.
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