Lurking beneath the surface of the Google search engine lies a cruel joke likely set up by Cam Heyward himself. When looking for news on whether his Not Just Football podcast would continue, this was one of the results.
“Cam Heyward has officially decided to hang it up. Best of luck in retirement Cam,” the description of Not Just Football on X/Twitter displayed.
A classic case of don’t-believe-everything-you-read.
At a baker’s dozen years into his storied career, the dreaded “R” word has been discussed at length. Heyward, 34, is the oldest on the roster and has been since center Maurkice Pouncey retired in 2021.
He put it simply when ESPN’s Brooke Pryor prompted Heyward on his downtime following the 2022 season.
“The reflection period of (last season) was long. Just understanding that I got more years in the tank,” he said during OTAs. “Excited to keep on attacking it. Trying to figure out this puzzle and win a Super Bowl.”
Heyward said retirement wasn’t a consideration.
“I use (the idea of retirement) just to give myself some space to really look at the situation,” Heyward explained. “It’s not retirement. It’s more of a reflection, really just focusing on the seasons. Every year, I got to focus on that because I put so much into it. You need that time away to really stand back and see what’s happening and what you want to do.”
The only game Heyward has missed in the past two years was in the 2020 season in preparation for the playoffs. He missed two games with a hamstring in 2016 and was later put on injured reserve with a torn pectoral. The Steelers somehow managed to win those remaining nine games of the season until losing to the New England Patriots in the conference championship game. Not having a rookie quarterback probably had something to do with it.
Heyward is coming off his second-consecutive double-digit sack season (10.0, 10.5) and was battling with T.J. Watt for the Steelers franchise record in sacks before Week 1. Watt is a half-sack away from breaking James Harrison’s record of 80.5.
