The Pittsburgh Steelers have been busy making deals this offseason. Mike Tomlin's team secured a big part of its future by re-signing T.J. Watt to a massive deal. The defensive superstar will help the Steelers' defense be just as good as it has ever been. More recently, Pittsburgh signed running back Jaylen Warren to a new deal. Cam Heyward, however, is still waiting for his.
Heyward has been with the Steelers since 2011 and is one of Tomlin's veteran captains. The defensive end works opposite of Watt and is the anchor of one of the best defensive units in the league every single season. However, the 36-year-old and the team have been at odds over his next contract. Heyward is not going to miss Week 1 against the New York Jets, though.
Warren signed a two-year deal with the Steelers. Heyward spoke about the new contract on his podcast, Not Just Football. According to him, he supports Warren and is happy that he emerged from negotiations victorious.
“Very happy,” Heyward said. “When you hear about Jaylen Warren’s story and to know he was undrafted and went to rookie camp and when you’re not drafted and you’re going to rookie camp, you’re facing and uphill battle. And to watch him just climb over every hill and continue to just keep getting better and showing what he can and being responsible for some of the right things in our locker room, the right things going forward. I'm really happy for this kid. He has a bright future. He works his tail off. Wants to be great. A lot of guys can learn from how he goes about his work. He’s a mighty mouse. He's one of our short kings, I like to say. But it's really nice to see a guy rewarded like that.”
Heyward, on the other hand, is likely to start the season without a new deal of his own. However, it looks like Tomlin and Watt can rely on him to play.
“Nothing to talk about,” Heyward said about his Week 1 status.
Heyward figures to be a big piece of the Steelers this season. If he plays well, his contract dispute might soon come to an end.
