PITTSBURGH — Amid prolonged contract talks with the Pittsburgh Steelers, defensive captain and four-time All-Pro defensive lineman Cameron Heyward said Friday he’s “preparing” when asked if he was going to play vs. the New York Jets on Sunday.
However, Heyward didn’t commit to being on the field for the team’s season opener.
“I’m preparing,” he said. “Still got some time, but we’ll see.”
Asked if his playing status hinged on the completion of a reworked contract, Heyward was vague.
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“I wish I had a straight answer for you right now,” he said. “All I can tell you is I’ve had to have a lot of tough conversations with my family.”
Heyward was equally vague about his level of optimism that the contract situation would be resolved by Sunday.
“I wish I could be more optimistic, but [I] just try and stay in the moment,” he said. “I don’t have all the answers so it’s more of me just waiting and seeing what can happen.”
Though Heyward declined to give a definitive status for Sunday, his coaches and teammates have been firm throughout the week that they expect him to play at MetLife Stadium.
“Absolutely,” defensive coordinator Teryl Austin said. “He’s been practicing, so I’m anticipating him playing.”
Heyward acknowledged that the Steelers typically don’t negotiate contracts in-season, making Sunday a de facto deadline for something to get worked out. The 36-year-old said he hasn’t thought about his availability the rest of the season if a deal isn’t worked out by the official start of the regular season.
“I don’t want to have to think about that,” he said. “I’d like to be think cooler heads prevail and we move forward, but if it does get to that, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”
Heyward was a brief hold-in late in training camp amid frustrations about the state of negotiations, but he returned to practice and participated in both individual and team periods beginning Aug. 19. He was a full participant in every day of practice this week, except for his usual Thursday veteran’s day off, and he wasn’t listed with a game designation in the final injury report.
“It’s not like I wasn’t just not doing anything,” Heyward said of the hold-in. “There was me on the sideline still staying ready. Some of it was by design because [coach Mike Tomlin] was trying to get me out of periods, but as we got closer I still have to be ready for the season, whether I’m on the field or not. I’d like to make sure I’m well-prepared in case we do have something.”
Heyward’s request for a reworked contract to increase his 2025 compensation dates back to February after he earned an All-Pro nod for a bounce-back season where he recorded eight sacks, 11 batted passes and 20 quarterback hits after an injury-shortened 2023 campaign.
Heyward initially signed a two-year, $29 million extension with the Steelers in September 2024 after playing only 11 games the previous year with a groin and core muscle injury, putting him under contract through the 2026 season.
According to OverTheCap.com, his contract’s $14.5 million average annual value is ranked 23rd for interior defensive linemen. Heyward said he told the Steelers he planned to revisit the contract after the 2024 season if he earned the All-Pro nod. He added Friday that he wasn’t offered any incentives that would increase the value of his contract if he earned the prestigious honor.
“Not a lot of players have gotten incentives over here,” he said. “A lot of it is stemmed from just quarterbacks. There’s different ways to handle the situation. I’m all for proving it. I’m not running away from it. My career has always been about proving it, and if it was that route, I’d go for it, but got time, see what happens.”
As part of the 2024 deal, Heyward received a $13.45 million guaranteed roster bonus for 2025 to bring his total compensation for the year to $14.75 million. Heyward is set to earn a $12.95 million roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year in 2026 if he remains on the roster, but his contract doesn’t have any guaranteed money beyond this season.
“It’s a unique situation,” Heyward said. “A lot of guys don’t play late into their thirties, especially at my position. And then you look at what happened in these last two years, I was hurt the one year, came back and gutted it out. Did I have my best performance? No. And through that, there was a motivation there to try to get something done, but all was hammered to me was I’m damaged goods. And I used that as motivation, and I have one of my more productive years, and there’s not anything guaranteed in my contract.
“They could cut me now, and they could have cut me right after the season and it wouldn’t affect them. So there’s give and take on that, and this is a business if I can’t talk openly about it, and I had to work through this for myself. And I know I haven’t been as forward about this stuff because I’ve just been trying to work through answers and questions, but it’s something that I’ve had to think about.”
Heyward was also elected to be a team captain for the 11th consecutive season earlier this week, and he said Friday that his situation hasn’t been a distraction to his teammates amid preparations for the Jets.
“I’ve addressed it openly with my teammates,” Heyward said. “I never wanted it to be a distraction or them to think otherwise. If they’ve had a question, they’ve been able to contact me, and we’ve had informal formal talks about it, but every teammate in here knows how I feel.”
Heyward also defended himself against negative reactions from the fanbase about his contract negotiations and uncertain game status.
“There’s loud voices, and everybody has an opinion, but I can’t control that,” he said. “If you know how I work, you know how I play. That’s all that matters. I have to make a decision for my family. This is a business. I cannot play this game forever and just like I’m maximized on the field, I want to be maximized outside of it. I don’t want to be taken care of that way. It’s not being greedy, it’s just the way this game is. It’s not for long, NFL. So I would tell every guy, maximize your opportunities and keep going from there.”
