Steelers Legend Claims Cam Heyward as 'One Of Us'

Cam Heyward is viewed as one of the greats by Pittsburgh Steelers icons.

LATROBE -- The Pittsburgh Steelers inducted four players into their Hall of Honor, including two from the 2000s Super Bowl-winning defense. Those defenders being Aaron Smith and James Harrison. 

Smith, who spent 13 years with the Steelers, walked away as a two-time champion with 160 games and 152 starts on his resume. Looking back, he told the media after his selection to the Hall of Honor that there was something special about the group he was a part of. 

"From the day I came here with Coach [Bill] Cowher, it was kind of the mentality. I think it probably came from the 70s with Joe Green and them," Smith said. "You could be a lot of things, but you could not be a pushover or a soft guy. That was the thing. When you walked in here and you had to play defense, they didn't care how talented you were, if you weren't willing to put your hand in the pile and compete and be physical and get after somebody, we didn't want you."

Now, the Steelers have a new group of legends. T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith and Minkah Fitzpatrick stand tall amongst those in black and gold, but Smith believes one player on today's roster would've been a part of the legendary 2000s team. 

That player is Cam Heyward.

"Cam's unbelievable," Smith said. "I think this is one of the things I would like to say to Cam, and older guys would say it to us sometimes; 'you could've played when we played.' I'd say Cam's one of those guys. He was a guy that we would've had on that defense that would play with us. That's a compliment to him. We would've accepted him by all means as part of us."

Heyward played just one season with Smith as a rookie in 2011. Since then, he's accumulated 183 games and 148 starts, earning six Pro Bowls and four All-Pro selections. 

He's on the hunt for his own Super Bowl ring with the Steelers, but chances are he would've been just as big of a piece to the group of legends Smith and Harrison were a part of as he is today's defense. 

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