Steelers' Cam Heyward Noncommittal on Playing in Opener Amid Contract Standoff

At 35, the Pittsburgh defensive end played some of his best football a year ago.

Cam Heyward made his seventh Pro Bowl a year ago. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward was a late bloomer, but when he bloomed, he bloomed.

In his age-28 season in 2017, Heyward broke through and made his first Pro Bowl. Eight years later, he's been a Pro Bowler seven times over, and has showed no sign of slowing down entering his age-36 campaign.

Now, Heyward is eager for a new contract—and on Friday, he expressed an apparent willingness to miss his team's opener against the Jets in order to receive that new contract.

"I wish I had a straight answer for you right now," Heyward said via Nick Farabaugh of PennLive when asked whether he would sit out if he didn't receive a new contract by Sunday. "All I can tell you is I've had a lot of tough conversations with my family."

The Ohio State product is due about $14.5 million this year—the penultimate year of his current contract. Heyward recorded eight sacks in 2024, and was named an All-Pro to go with his Pro Bowl selection.

"I wish I could be more optimistic, but I'm just trying to stay in the moment," Heyward said via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I don't have all the answers."

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