Steelers' Mike Tomlin Made It Extremely Clear To Cam Heyward Why He Kept Him Out Of Preseason: "Get Ready For Week 1"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in a great position following the first six weeks of the 2025 NFL season, as they currently sit at 4-1 with total control over the AFC North. While the team has had some bumps along the way, the team has played well overall and has avoided any major injuries to this point. Some of those bumps in the road that occurred in the first few weeks of the season had Steeler Nation a little concerned, but they likely weren't catching the team by surprise. 

Throughout much of the lead up to the 2025 regular season, there were tons of opportunities for younger and/or players that still had to earn their spot to show their skill sets. That was by design from Head Coach Mike Tomlin and the rest of the coaching staff, but being able to evaluate some of those players better might not have been the primary reasoning for them seeing additional reps. 

Overall there has been a trend around the Steelers that they tend to hit their stride a little too early in the season, which leads to underwhelming performances down the stretch. This could be due to a dozen different reasons, but one of those is the team seems to have been getting worn down throughout the grind leading up to the season and the season itself. It appears as though the approach this season might have been different however, as many of the veteran and proven players were given limited reps in both training camp and the preseason. Cam Heyward talked on the most recent episode of his podcast Not Just Football that he had conversations with Tomlin about his reps leading up to the season, and that Tomlin was holding him out intentionally to ensure he could maximize his availability and performance throughout the duration of the season. 

"Coach T, he's seen so many times where he lost players in the preseason," said Heyward. "He told me before the season, 'I just got to get you out of training camp, I'll deal with whatever the first month.' I'm scratching and clawing to get on the field, but he kind of sets the tone. Get ready for Week 1."

Limiting players' reps throughout much of training camp and the preseason for proven veteran players isn't something that is new around the league, so the Steelers following that trend isn't something that is ground breaking from a strategy standpoint. 

Getting the players through the season healthy is definitely a top goal, but the strategy of limiting the reps of players like Heyward could go a long way in explaining why there were some early season struggles in some areas. After a rough Week 1 against the New York Jets where the defense allowed 32 points, it had some people raising concerns. Limited reps throughout practice and the preseason likely had a very veteran heavy defense needing to play themselves into game readiness, especially with a lot new faces trying to mesh together after a very busy offseason by General Manager Omar Khan. Other critics argue that the offense actually got off to a hot start, despite many players like Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf not playing in the preseason either. So how much does preseason participation truly matter?

In the long run, the reduced reps leading up to the season should end up with a lot of the team having fresher legs in the latter stages of the regular season, and hopefully keep them healthy as well. Considering the Steelers managed to start off with a solid record as well, they appeared to get the best of both worlds with fresher players and early season victories. 

Steelers' Defense Getting Major Contributions From Jalen Ramsey

The Steelers' defense took a little while to get going and operating together at a high level, and that was likely impacted by some of the rep limiting by Tomlin. However, the defense has been operating at a high level the last couple of games and Jalen Ramsey has been a huge part of that. 

Ramsey has been wearing many hats around the defense, and his success all over the field had Tomlin raving about his impact. It is clear that the defense is different with him on the field vs. off, as the defense had some issues with him missing time in the second half of the Minnesota Vikings game in Ireland when he went out with a hamstring injury. Should Ramsey be able to stay healthy, his impact on the defense is as big of any player on the team. 

Do you believe it was wise of Tomlin to rest some of the veteran players prioritizing the long haul? Let us know in the comments below! Please feel free to share your Steelers takes with me on X @matt_papiernik and follow me. 

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