If there is one guy the Pittsburgh Steelers can't afford to lose, it may be Cam Heyward. With the retirement of Stephon Tuitt this off-season, more pressure was placed on Heyward to continue to lead the defensive line with his elite play. Okay, TJ Watt is probably the player that the Steelers can least afford to lose, especially with the minuscule depth at outside linebacker. Minkah Fitzpatrick has an argument as well, as those are the team's three best and most valuable players.
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Regardless, everything stopped on Thursday in Latrobe at the team's last training camp practice. Heyward went down with a left foot injury and was down on ground for a minute or two. After limping around and then heading to the locker room, the defensive lineman re-appeared on the sidelines shortly after. He seemed to be walking fine, but with no media availability from head coach Mike Tomlin on Friday, it appeared his status wouldn't be revealed until after Saturday's preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
93.7 The Fan's Josh Rowntree caught up with Heyward after Thursday's practice though, and the Ohio State product seems to be just fine, seemingly avoiding any major injury.
"Just got rolled up. An offensive lineman rolled on the back of my ankle," Heyward said via Rowntree. "A little sore, but it is what it is. We could tell with the tests with what I was doing on the sideline [that it was minor], but they just wanted to make sure I was a-okay and ready to go."
A huge sigh of relief for Steelers fans and everyone within the organization. Between Heyward and Tuitt, it seems the team has dealt with major injuries to one of those two for five years now. While he was unlikely to play against the Jaguars anyway, the team will take precautionary measures over the next few weeks to assure he's healthy for Week 1 in Cincinnati.
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Heyward's evolved himself into the upper echelon of defensive linemen in the NFL. In fact, he's one of the better defenders overall, not just amongst the defensive linemen. Despite entering his age-33 season, Heyward's coming off the best year of his career. He's been an All-Pro for three consecutive years, two of which were First Team honors.
How big of a scare did the Steelers just avoid? Will Heyward repeat his All-Pro honors in 2022? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, yinz!
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