Is Cam next?

Heyward was still an All-Pro at 32. He was as good in 2021 as he had ever been in his career. I don't think he dropped off all that much in 2022, though I think they did start cutting back on his snaps. It is impossible to tell if age caught up with him last season due to the groin injury.

This is how contracts work. Sometimes, the player ends up being overpaid at the end of the deal. Maybe both sides will make the business decision and they will cut Heyward, but this notion that he has to do the right thing and take less money is absolutely nonsense.

 

that’s why I hate when they continually restructure some of these players contracts. They create a cap number where sometimes it makes it near. Impossible to keep a player.
James Harrison‘s situation comes to mind. he didn’t want to take a pay cut and I’m not sure I blame him.

 

All Pro or Pro Bowl?

 

Both.

 

All-Pro. He was a first-team AP All-Pro selection in 2017, 19, and 21. He made the second team in 2020.

 

I agree, and it’s one of the reasons I don’t understand the mindset of those laying blame on the player, as if the player orchestrated everything. Do they think an organization doesn’t know age progression and its effect on performance when they draw up a contract, or where money accumulates if they convert current year to later ones?

But they want the player to just suck it up and take a pay cut.

 

He made the Pro Bowl in 2021 as well, his age 32 year.

(Though I realize the AP is generally more respected of the two.)

 

Heyward's cap hit is 22 mill in 2024. He stated he is not going to take a pay cut. Ok fine. They will extend him 1 to 2 more years without giving up any more money, backload the contract. Then he will be waived or retire. The bonus money he will keep if waived but if he retires the team can get a portion of the bonus back.

The bottom line is that they need to lower his cap number for 2024.

 

Its not like these guys were paid $3.35 an hour. It's a business and unlike baseball the contracts are not guaranteed. If your cost benefit isn't there then the team makes a business decision. Just like my boss used to say, who was a high performer, "I feel like I have to prove myself every single day!". I felt that way my whole career and never ever once felt I had arrived and could just coast for even a second. Do an incentive based deal and if he doesn't want it, you let him go and he can sign with another team if they think he is still a 3 down player.

 

I put up the % of snaps.

He has dropped a lot.

 

He'll be 35 before camp starts. And his snap count is 50% this year vs 2021.

He got out played by the Jedi a lot, even when healthy. And Benton had a couple games better than him, while cam was healthy.

Also this was with a weak offense. So the numbers for this year are actually even worse considering how much they were on the field more.

 

It's as if you're discounting he was injured the bulk of last year when comparing snap counts.

And however you want to report his age, three seasons ago he was named both AP1 and PB; two years ago PB; last year groin injury.

What's your suggested course of action?

 

The percentage of snaps while he was playing through an injury are misleading.

 

Yeah, those voidable years seem like the only solution at this point

 

Tell me about it. He tore the muscle off the bone, which required surgery. Then he needed another surgery after the season. I recently pulled a muscle down there, a far less severe injury, and I can attest that it ain't fun.

 

thanks for clarification. that said - that was 4 seasons ago.

to be clear, Cam will go down as one of my favorite 'modern' Steelers - a standard setter for this current generation. but ..... age catches up to all of our favorite Steelers.

 

It was three seasons ago, not four, and Heyward still had similar statistics in 2022. The only down year since 2017 was 2023, and that was due to a severe groin injury that has now required two surgical procedures. That doesn't mean that age isn't catching up to him, but it was one injury, not a series of them.

 

His snap count was down, even when in healthy games.

3 years ago, is 3 years ago. He's gone down since then with snap counts. He went from 1000 to 800 to below 500 (and he played 11 games, I think. And our defense saw the field more than 3 years ago).

So yes I would cut him. Let Benton play (because again there was games benton had more snap counts). And use that money for a center, QB or CB.

 

No it's not. He played 11 games. And he didn't even have 500 snaps. While 3 years ago he had a 1000 snaps for 16 games.

3 years ago 62/game
This year 45/game

 

I don’t think you understand what playing through a groin injury is. It’s not isolated to the window of games the player misses. I also don’t think using snap count over percentage serves much purpose beyond furthering a narrative. The reality is things get a bit more complicated.

The defensive snap count changes every season, but the Steelers have been averaging around 1100, or 64/game. In 2021 and ‘22 Cam played in 82% and 75% of the snaps, respectively. That translates to about 52 and 48 snaps per game in each year. (Again, I’m omitting 2023 due to the groin injury.)

To me, that drop isn’t significant enough to warrant cutting him. I’d be taking on risk, sure; I can’t guarantee Cam won’t get hurt again or see a more substantial decline in play, as is inevitable with time, but if I’m ownership and know I offered the contract, I caused the final years to bloat by asking him to restructure for the team in the past, I haven’t seen a dramatic drop in performance, I can afford to keep him without negatively affecting the team financially, and I want to retain some amount of credibility with contract negotiations in the future, I’m not cutting him.

I realize I may be in the minority with that opinion, but I think there’s a bigger picture to consider on top of the worry over age and four snaps/game (and real ownership likely has had much more in-depth medical and performance analysis to aid in their discussions).

 

you understand injuries affected snap counts. Yet you don't see injuries as a problem? you understand that after his pro bowl he went down to 75%, due to he got to play an extra game because nfl expanded.

There's a lot of writing on the wall. And he's one of the biggest cap hits.

 

he is OLD (er)

he is worn down, wearing down

how some of you can't see this is just blinded eyes, that is ALL it is.

wishful thinking and nostalgia does not win championships

 

It is misleading when you try to make it into a career trend. It was an injury. His snaps were down when he got hurt in 2016, too.

 

What part of "...that doesn't mean age isn't catching up to him..." did you not understand?