The NFL is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure this week’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens is played — even if the players are unhappy about it. Veteran defensive lineman Cam Heyward is among those who are clearly not thrilled.
Shortly after the NFL announced that the Steelers and Ravens will play at 3:40 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Heyward sent a tweet mocking the kickoff time.
The Pittsburgh-Baltimore game has now been postponed three times, and the most recent is to give the Ravens time to prepare after their rash of positive COVID-19 tests. You may find the reason the kickoff is so early in the day to be quite entertaining.
With the Steelers already having a game postponed this year, the NFL is doing everything it can to avoid having to add an extra week to the regular season. Heyward and others may not like it, but they’re being paid millions of dollars to show up and do their job in a challenging year. They should be able to handle it.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward recently sent Robert Downey Jr. a special gift, and Iron Man is returning the favor.
Downey, who famously plays “Iron Man” in the Marvel movies, posted a video on social media over the weekend thanking Heyward for sending him a game jersey. Downey said he’s sending Heyward the Infinity Gauntlet to say thanks and get the Steelers amped up to remain undefeated.
Heyward shared the video on his Instagram account and thanked Downey.
“Well my @marvel life has just been made! @robertdowneyjr you are a true legend and glad to know Ironman is a @steelers fan! Y’all heard the man let’s get this W this week! Thanks to @jimmy_rich & @bradrlambert for making this happen #ironsharpensiron,” Heyward wrote.
A lot of people agree with Downey that Pittsburgh’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals has trap written all over it, but how can the Steelers lose with Iron Man on their side? Remember what happened when an Olympic skeleton racer wore an Iron Man-themed helmet during a race? The Bengals have their work cut out for them.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward went on Twitter after his team’s 38-7 Week 6 win over the Cleveland Browns at Heinz Field on Sunday to clarify any possible controversy over his comments about hitting Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield entered Sunday’s game questionable due to a rib injury. Heyward said in the days leading up to the game that it was up to Pittsburgh’s defense to get to Mayfield and make him think about his ribs.
Late in the second quarter of Sunday’s game, Heyward sure made Mayfield feel some pain. Heyward nailed the Browns quarterback with a big hit in the back.
Browns reporter Mary Kay Cabot tweeted about the hit during the game and referenced Heyward’s comments from the middle of the week. Heyward responded after the game and wanted to make sure people knew he wasn’t out to injure Mayfield.
I don’t think anyone thought Heyward meant any of his comments maliciously. And there was nothing wrong with his hit or his plan to try and hit the quarterback. That’s what defensive players need to do. The Browns are going to be in some trouble though if Mayfield continues to play hurt.
Sunday’s game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tennessee Titans has been postponed to later in the season after a series of positive coronavirus tests, and at least one player is frustrated with the NFL over the way the situation has been handled.
The NFL announced earlier in the week that the Steelers-Titans game would be played either Monday or Tuesday. After a few more members of the Titans organization tested positive for COVID-19 to bring the total to 11 people, the game was postponed until later in the season. Shortly after that news surfaced, Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward took to Twitter to voice his frustration.
The NFLPA responded telling Heyward they sent him a direct message.
Ideally, the NFL would like to give players an answer on when their next game will be as early as possible. There is only so much that can be done to make that happen, however. The situation is fluid and depends on whether or not more positive coronavirus tests are returned.
The NFL prepared for the possibility of games being postponed or canceled due to COVID-19, and this may not be the first time it happens. The league is also going to great lengths to make sure teams take health and safety protocols seriously.
Cam Heyward is getting paid by Pittsburgh.
Heyward and the Steelers are finalizing a four-year contract extension, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Sunday.
Heyward was entering the final season of a 6-year, $59.2 million contract signed with the team in 2015. The sides worked to keep the defensive lineman under contract for longer than that.
The extension will go on top of the final year of his current deal, which means Heyward will be under contract through 2024. He is receiving $65.6 million in new money and will be set to earn $75.1 million over the next five years.
Heyward seems to only be getting better with age. The 31-year-old had a career-high 83 tackles and 23 quarterback hits last season. He also had nine sacks.
Heyward has made the Pro Bowl the last three seasons and was honored as a first-team All-Pro in two of the years. He has been recognized as one of the best players at his position.
The extension coming before the start of the season fits in with Pittsburgh’s preference to not negotiate deals in-season.
Cam Heyward sent a fantastic Twitter response to a post that denigrated one of his gridiron opponents.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler compiled a list of the top 10 interior linemen in the NFL. He promoted the list via Twitter with an inflammatory quote about Indianapolis Colts lineman Quenton Nelson. One NFL defensive assistant coach said their opinion of Nelson changed after seeing what Heyward did to him.
Heyward saw the tweet and stood up for Nelson in defense. He said that him having a good game against Nelson doesn’t devalue Nelson’s talent.
That’s a tremendous response from Heyward, who is a great player and wants to recognize Nelson’s excellence as well.
Here are some of the clips of Heyward getting the best of Nelson during Pittsburgh’s 26-24 win over Indianapolis in November last year.
Nelson was the No. 6 overall draft pick in 2018 out of Notre Dame and has been an All-Pro player in both of his seasons. Heyward was a first-round pick in 2011 and has made the Pro Bowl in three straight years and was All-Pro in 2017 and 2019.
Bottom line? They’re both great players, like Heyward said, and that point should not be lost just because Heyward got the best of Nelson in last year’s matchup.
The Pittsburgh Steelers made a surprising decision at the start of overtime on Sunday, and a confusing exchange left many wondering what was going on.
The Baltimore Ravens got the opportunity to call the toss and got it wrong, which allowed the Steelers the chance to choose what they would do. Official Walt Anderson seemed to talk with Cam Heyward a few times to make sure the Steelers defensive lineman made the choice he wanted.
The announced result was that the Steelers chose to defend a goal, which left Baltimore with the choice of receiving or kicking. The Ravens chose to receive.
Baltimore went 3-and-out and punted to the Steelers, who then had the chance to win the game with a field goal. The strategy seemed to work out well, but JuJu Smith-Schuster lost a fumble, giving the ball back to Baltimore. The Ravens ended up kicking to win 26-23.
Many questioned the Steelers’ decision, which would put them at a disadvantage under normal circumstances. However, these weren’t typical circumstances. The Steelers were on their third-string quarterback and probably thought the chances of him leading a game-ending touchdown drive were low. Not only that, but a turnover in their territory could lead to an instant game-ending field goal opportunity for Baltimore. Conversely, if the Steelers defense could force a stop, a field goal from Pittsburgh would win the game. Mike Tomlin probably thought the chances of Devlin Hodges leading a field goal drive were much better than the rookie leading a touchdown drive.
The surprising strategy was sound; the Steelers just lost because of a turnover.
Antonio Brown seemed to fall out of favor with his teammates when he essentially abandoned them during the final week of the regular season, but at least one Pittsburgh Steelers veteran wants the star receiver to remain with the team.
Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward, a captain and one of the most respected members of the team, had high praise for Brown at the Pro Bowl on Thursday.
“I love the guy. I think the world of the guy,” Heyward said. “I love his competitiveness. I love that he strives to be the No. 1 receiver.
“I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’ve done plenty of stupid things. I just think I’d love to have him on our team.”
The Steelers have all but confirmed that they are open to trading Brown, which is not a surprise. All indications are that he would welcome the change as well, but Ben Roethlisberger has done his best to downplay the supposed feud he had with the receiver toward the end of the year, and now Heyward is taking the same approach.
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward has had it with a prominent former teammate taking shots at coach Mike Tomlin in the media.
Former Pittsburgh linebacker James Harrison, who played 14 seasons with the Steelers, said on FS1 Thursday that Tomlin deserved the blame for Pittsburgh’s potential playoff absence, arguing that the coach failed to make the most of a talented defense. Heyward wasn’t having that narrative.
“Right now, he is a mouthpiece. That’s it,” Heyward said, via Mark Kaboly of The Athletic. “I couldn’t care less what he thinks. I don’t really care what James thinks right now (because) he’s not in this locker room and he’s not going to help us win if we talk about him.
“(Harrison) is the one bringing it up; nobody else is even talking about it. What’s his beef with him?”
His beef likely goes back a year, when Harrison had a rather spectacular falling out with Tomlin and the Steelers over what he perceived to be broken promises about his playing time and usage. He ended up joining one of the team’s rivals, the New England Patriots, and has used media appearances to be publicly critical of Tomlin ever since. This looks like another instance of him having an axe to grind.
Mike Tomlin has faced a great deal of criticism over the way the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season ended, but several players have come out in defense of the head coach over the past two weeks. Veteran defensive end Cam Heyward is the latest.
While speaking with reporters from the Pro Bowl on Thursday, Heyward was asked about the perception that Tomlin does not hold his players accountable.
One recent report claimed Le’Veon Bell was one of one of several Steelers players and assistant coaches who ignored Tomlin’s requirement that everyone report to the locker room two hours before the kickoff of games. Heyward claims that never happened.
Bell missed a portion of Pittsburgh’s walk-through the day before their playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, but he said this week that he had a good excuse for that and Tomlin was made aware ahead of time.
While there have been instances where Steelers players clearly showed a lack of focus (like Antonio Brown’s infamous locker room video from last year), the bigger concern with Tomlin should be the situational coaching mistakes he has consistently made. Those have hurt the team in recent years, most recently against Jacksonville.
