Steelers' Cam Heyward Rips Report About Hold Out

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward set the record straight about his hold out.

Dec 18, 2022; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- Cameron Heyward's decision to hold out of Organized Team Activities with the Pittsburgh Steelers got more complicated when Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported that Heyward did not inform the team he would be missing practices, choosing to announce it on his podcast, Not Just Football, instead.

But Heyward, in no uncertain terms, refuted the claim from Dulac that he had gone around the Steelers and did not inform them directly that he would not be attending OTAs.

"That is a bold face lie," Heyward said on Twitter, tagging Dulac's account in the post. "Just cuz I don’t answer your text doesn’t mean I don’t communicate with the team. You will not slander my name."

Heyward made good on his promise not to show up to OTAs, at least for a day. He was not present for the first practice of the week at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex.

Dulac reported the day before OTAs are set to begin that the Steelers were not asking Heyward to take a paycut for the 2024 season, noting that other stars like Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell and James Harrison were asked to take less money late in their careers.

Dulac added that if Heyward wants to play beyond 2024 - the final year of his current contract with the Steelers, during which he's set to earn upwards of $22 million - he would have to do it for less than he's currently earning, whether that's in Pittsburgh or anywhere else.

As Heyward looks for more long-term job security, Dulac said it is unlikely the Steelers would sign him to more than a one-year extension unless they can tie his future compensation to voidable years than can be easily discarded. The notion of a one-year extension is out there, but the Steelers and Heyward have not engaged in a "serious discussion" about it, according to Dulac.

But Heyward has his own side of the story that hasn't been told just yet and he's peeled back the curtain slightly into the process of his hold out.

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