Steelers' Cam Heyward Admits To 'Disrespectful' Comments To Teammate In Meeting Room During Losing Streak

The Pittsburgh Steelers once had a promising season going in 2024. The team was in the lead in the AFC North, and there was even a chance that Pittsburgh would be able to land the one-seed in the conference. That all quickly fell apart. The Steelers lost their final four games of the regular season, and then got embarrassed by the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. This marked another first-round exit, and another year added to the drought of playoff success in Pittsburgh.

One of the veteran leaders for the Steelers that was visibly frustrated throughout the losing streak was Cam Heyward. Heyward is the longest-tenured Steeler, and the team had never really had a late-season collapse like it did in 2024. The offense remained inconsistent, but the more surprising factor in the losses was that the defense played horribly. The unit looked like it had communication issues throughout the final stretch of the season, and they could not stop much.

Heyward spoke about the losing streak on the most recent episode of his podcast Not Just Football. He explained a scenario where he went off on a teammate, and immediately felt bad about it.

"It was a teammate I kind of went off on," Heyward said. "It was like in, we were in meetings, and he just kept talking and I said something really disrespectful and I felt horrible about it. I was like, 'Why the f**k are we even answering this question?' I kind of went off in the moment. I felt terrible about it and it hurt me all week."

The veteran would never say who the other player was in the story, but it is safe to assume it is someone on the defensive side of the ball. Heyward went on to say that this instance came when Pittsburgh was losing a couple of games, so the frustration was built up in the building. It is understandable that players are frustrated and eventually hit their boiling point.

Pittsburgh's losing streak to end the year was rough for everyone involved. It was almost like the team gave up, although they were losing to quality opponents. The losing streak included losses to the Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Philadelphia Eagles, and Kansas City Chiefs. That is two teams that were eventually involved in Super Bowl LIX, and two of the best offenses in the league with Baltimore and Cincinnati. It is understandable to lose those games, but Pittsburgh wanted to be able to make a meaningful run in the postseason.

Head Coach Mike Tomlin took a lot of heat for the five-game losing streak. Some wondered if his message had gotten stale. Many of Tomlin's players came out in support of him, including Heyward who shared that the losses were on the execution of the players, not the coaches.

Steelers' Cam Heyward Eventually Apologized For His Outburst

Heyward has been a leader in the Pittsburgh locker room for the last decade, and he is clearly one of the most-respected individuals in the entire organization. When he speaks, younger players listen. He sets the example in the locker room, so it was important to him to make amends with whoever was on the receiving end of his outburst. He spoke about this during his podcast.

"I'm telling my wife, 'Man, I feel horrible about this,'" Heyward said. "This is just me being too much of a competitor, like we got to get this right, we had just been losing a couple of games. I felt bad about, you know in front of my teammates and coaches, doing that. So, I ended up buying a bottle of wine and like trying to have a peace offering because I just felt horrible about it."

It is safe to assume Heyward and the mystery player are back on good terms now, but that must have been a rough time to be player in the locker room. Going on a losing streak like that at such a crucial point in the season cannot be easy, and it is reasonable to assume players might take some frustration out on one another.

What do you think about Heyward's story? Let us know in the comments below!

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