Cameron Heyward’s Return to Practice Comes with Contract Uncertainty

As the Pittsburgh Steelers continue the week of practice, the preseason is slowly reaching its end. The club has a Thursday matchup with the Carolina Panthers on the docket, which will be the last stepping stone until Week 1 of the regular season.

As far as the most recent practice was concerned, the Panthers game took a back seat. All eyes were on the ongoing contract saga between the Steelers and star defensive lineman Cameron Heyward.

Pittsburgh got a bit of good and bad news on that front on Tuesday.

Steelers DL Cameron Heyward Returns to Practice on Tuesday

The best part of the Steelers’ early-week stretch is Heyward returned to practice in full capacity. It’s his first time working in pads in just under two weeks

Speaking to the media following practice, head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Heyward did both individual and team drills on Tuesday.

“He also participated in team work as well,” Tomlin said.

When asked a follow-up about whether anything has changed on the contract front, Tomlin deferred.

“You’d have to ask him,” Tomlin said.

Earlier this month, Heyward cited his contract value compared to other defensive players at his position as the reason for his hold-in. He believes he isn’t making what he’s worth.

“It’s hard for me, after the yea

r that I had, to really justify playing at the number I’m playing at,” Heyward said. “I understand I signed a contract last year. But to be completely honest with you, when I signed that, I told them, ‘When I have an All-Pro year, expect me to come back … I think everybody kind of giggled a little bit. But in my head, I used it as motivation to go out there and prove it.”

The problem is Heyward is just one year into a three-year pact. He’s set to account for cap numbers of over $19 million in 2025 and 2026. Those will bee his age-36 and age-37 seasons.

Only time will tell if his 2024 Pro Bowl and All-Pro campaign will lead to this situation being resolved. Ideally, both sides figure things out and Heyward doesn’t miss practice or regular-season time.

Heyward & Multiple Other Pittsburgh Starters Won’t Play in Preseason Finale

Despite his return to work in a larger scale, Heyward won’t play on Thursday. Tomlin said he, pass rusher T.J. Watt, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wideout DK Metcalf will watch from the sideline.

“As far as playing time, there are really four guys that I’m not considering playing: Cam, T.J., Aaron and DK,” Tomlin said. “Everyone else is under consideration. They’re preparing as if they’re going to play. There are a lot of variables in it — who’s playing for Carolina, and things of that nature — that might provide worthy competition. But as I sit here today, all healthy outside of the four that I mentioned are preparing and scheduled to play. We’ll get to the stadium and we’ll see what’s happening on the other side, and we may alter that in some ways.”

Tomlin does want this starting secondary to get some work in, largely because of how difficult it is to replicate chemistry and communication in games. There are too many moving pieces for everyone to sit idle to end the preseason.

“I’m hopeful that we get an opportunity to play, particularly in the secondary,” Tomlin said. “I’m not worried about the overall readiness of the collective, but I just think cohesion is such a major component of what they do. The ability to communicate in-stadium, it’s the same reason why our young offensive front has been working.”

Roster construction remains the most pressing matter for the Steelers. Heyward’s contract dispute is a not-so-distant second, however, as the preseason winds dow