Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward ended his training camp hold-in, but he hasn’t stopped looking for a new contract.
Heyward made that clear when he spoke to reporters in Pittsburgh on Friday, but he was less clear when it came to his availability on Sunday against the Jets. The Steelers have a longstanding policy that they don’t negotiate during the season and Heyward wouldn’t commit to playing if something doesn’t come together before gameday.
Heyward said he is preparing to play, “but we will see” what winds up happening this weekend.
“I wish I had a straight answer for you right now,” Heyward said, via Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “All I can tell you is I’ve had to have a lot of tough conversations with my family, and I am bracing for everything.”
Heyward has been paid a $13.45 million roster bonus this year and has a base salary of $1.3 million. He’s set to make over $14 million next season, but none of the compensation is currently guaranteed.
Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward was not on the field for Thursday’s practice, raising some proverbial eyebrows given his contract dispute that lingered through the summer.
But according to the team’s practice report, there was nothing out of the ordinary.
Pittsburgh noted Heyward received a veteran rest day. That implies Heyward should be on the field Friday for the last practice of the week.
Head coach Mike Tomlin noted earlier this week that he’s expecting Heyward to play this week, noting the defensive lineman is likely “champing at the bit.”
Linebacker Nick Herbig (hamstring) was limited again on Thursday after having the same designation on Wednesday.
Defensive tackle Derrick Harmon (knee) did not practice for the second consecutive day.
Jets head coach Aaron Glenn was not scheduled to speak to reporters on Thursday, but he made a brief appearance in the media room to discuss right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker’s injury.
Glenn confirmed reports from the last two days that Vera-Tucker tore his left triceps and that he will miss the entire season as a result. Glenn said it is a seven-month rehab process for the 2021 first-round pick and that the team is still working out who will replace Vera-Tucker in the starting lineup.
“When it comes to who’s gonna be up as far as the O-line, I’m still getting that evaluated,” Glenn said, via Tom Rock of Newsday.
The options for the Jets include whoever loses the battle for the starting center job between Josh Myers and Joe Tippmann as well as Xavier Newman and Chuks Okorafor.
Jets right guard Alijah Vera-Tucker went for further opinions on his arm injury, but the news wasn’t what they hoped to hear.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that evaluations confirmed that Vera-Tucker tore the triceps in his left arm. Vera-Tucker will go on injured reserve and he is expected to miss the entire season as a result of the injury.
Vera-Tucker tore his right triceps in 2022 and he tore his Achilles during the 2023 season, so he has an extended history of extended absences from the lineup. He started 15 games last year, however, and the hope was that another healthy season would both help the Jets and set him up for a sizable second contract.
Xavier Newman is the top backup guard on the depth chart, but the Jets could go in another direcetion. Joe Tippman or Josh Myers have been competing for the center job and one of them could move over one spot for Sunday’s game against the Steelers.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s first game action in the Steelers offense will come at MetLife Stadium against the Jets team he played for during a disappointing 2024 season, but he said on Wednesday that neither the new scheme nor the old memories are causing him any stress.
Rodgers called the trip to New Jersey “one game out of 17" when asked about it in August and reiterated that “it’s Week 1" when asked about having any extra motivation on Wednesday. Rodgers was equally dismissive about having any concerns about running the offense after sitting out all three of the team’s preseason games.
“I’ve been playing 20 years, so I know how to execute in a game situation,” Rodgers said, via the Steelers’ website.
Rodgers said he feels he has a “pretty good handle” on offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s offense after joining the team late in the offseason and that he feels “good about finishing Art’s sentences when he starts to call plays.” The result of those plays will have to be better than they were with the Jets for Rodgers’s stay in Pittsburgh to be a more enjoyable one.
