Steelers' Cam Heyward Fatigued After Playoff Loss To The Bills "It's Been A Rough Season"

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive leader Cam Heyward had a difficult season, with injuries limiting him to only 11 games. The three-time All-Pro struggled to look like himself as he battled with different ailments in the 11 games he played in the 2023 season. He recorded the lowest sack total (two) since 2012 before he became a starter. It started with a core muscle injury in training camp, and then a groin injury suffered in Week 1 landed him on injured reserve. After losing his fourth consecutive playoff game where he's been active, the veteran defensive lineman talked about some of the challenges he faced in the 2023 season and his future beyond it. 

Heyward has been a valuable part of the Steelers team and has aged like a fine wine. The Ohio State product had made the Pro Bowl in six consecutive seasons ending in 2022 while adding First Team All-Pro nods in 2017, 2019, and 2021. He has been relatively healthy since 2016 when he was forced to miss most of the season with a pectoral injury. He's shown up on weekly injury lists for veteran's rest and the odd bump and bruise, but until the 2023 season, Father Time hadn't caught up to Heyward yet. When asked what percentage he was playing at in the AFC Wild Card loss to the Bills in a postgame press conference, Heyward left a long pause before providing a brief answer. 

"It's been a rough season," he said with a laugh and little grin.

Heyward will be 35 in May. He has another two seasons left on his contract, but the team could restructure the deal to lessen the number if they feel he can still contribute. The main thing to determine first is if he wants to come back, and that seemed to be a theme during postgame press conferences after the Steelers' AFC Wild Card game loss. 

Steelers' Heyward "In His Heart" Wants To Keep Playing

Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin has had questions about his future weighing over him as the season has gone on. The latest report from NBC's Mike Florio was that he would take some time after the season to address whether he wanted to continue coaching. He was asked in his postgame press conference about his future and decided to leave instead of answering. Mason Rudolph was also asked about his future with the team after playing in his first NFL playoff game. Heyward, like his head coach potentially, is going to have to take some time to decide whether he'll be back with the Steelers for a 14th season.

Heyward still wants to play, but after all of the challenges with injury and another year on the body, he said it's going to be a tough decision to make. The longtime captain may not have been at the height of his powers in 2023, but he's still an incredibly hard player to fully replace. 

"In my heart, I want to play, but it's been rough," Heyward admitted. "I need to take the offseason to get healthy again. Battling back through a groin [injury], it's one thing to just walk off a groin, another thing to play football. And there's been some other stuff, but it's been a season where I just wanted to put my hand in that pile."  

Heyward has had one heck of a career so far. His eight career forced fumbles sit first among defensive linemen in Steelers history, while he is tied for second place with James Harrison in all-time sacks for the franchise, second to longtime teammate, TJ Watt. 

Heyward didn't seem like he was ready to hang up his cleats at the meeting with media members after the Steelers' season ended. For now, he's on the list of Steelers whose future is still very much up in the air. 

Do you want Heyward to come back for another season? Do the Steelers have to do something to lower his cap hit for that to be possible? Comment below!

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