Steelers' Cameron Heyward Immediately Calls Out Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce "It's Messed Up"

The Pittsburgh Steelers are out of the Super Bowl hunt for the 2023 season, but that doesn't mean the players don't watch the games or have opinions on what's going on. It was hard to top some of the wild, and unrelated to football headlines, that occurred with both Championship games on Sunday, especially all of the Taylor Swift and Eminem coverage; however, an incident before the early game wound up drawing some serious attention on social media.  

During the warmups before the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens matchup, Travis Kelce, was seen throwing the gear of Ravens kicker Justin Tucker. Apparently, Tucker's items were in the way of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Everyone knew the game was going to be chippy, especially because the Chiefs aren't used to being on the road during the playoffs. 

Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward also co-hosts a podcast called Not Just Football with Cam Heyward. On a recent episode his co-host, longtime friend Hayden Walsh, asked him about it. Social media users were quick to say that Kelce was bullying Tucker or attempting to assert his dominance in an opponents' stadium. Others pointed out that Tucker was warming up in the visiting team's side of the field. This is somehting kickers do often to try to intimate opposing teams and Kelce was well within his right to move him along. 

"I was like wow the quarterback and the tight end group are picking on the little kicker, smart to pick on the one guy who's alone," Heyward said.

Walsh did point out to Heyward that Tucker was likely back there with his long snapper and/or his holder. However, in the videos that circulated, you don't see Tucker with another Ravens' player, you just see the seven-time Pro Bowler out there stretching. 

Initially, one sees Mahomes kick Tucker's kicking tee out of his way a few times and Tucker just keeps resetting himself. Then, one sees Kelce walk over a throw Tucker's gear including his kicking tee, helmet, and footballs off to the side. 

"Tucker's got his holder out there, for field goals, and he's stretching. So he could have been anywhere to do that. That's the annoying part with it, it's like somebody picking on (Christian) Kuntz. They find a way to pick on the little guys, it's messed up," added Heyward.

How you felt about the incident depended on which team you were cheering for in the game. Chiefs fans felt that Tucker shouldn't have been so close to Mahomes' warm-up area. Those who are Ravens fans felt that it was in poor taste, especially considering none of them seemed to ask Tucker to move out of the way. 

Of course, many pointed out that if Tucker could have moved over so could Mahomes. Tucker is widely considered the best kicker in the NFL and perhaps of all time. The Ravens signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and since then he has made 395 field goals out of 438 attempts which gives him the highest percentage in the league at 90.2%. He is incredibly accurate at long field goals having made 58 out of 85 attempts of over 50 yards. 

Many Ravens fans were hoping that the slight thrown at their beloved kicker would result in some karma towards Kansas City, but apparently not. Kelce and Mahomes both had incredible games. Mahomes was 30 of 39 passes for 241 yards and one touchdown. Kelce, who is always outstanding, had an exceptional day with 11 receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown, setting a league record for postseason receptions. Tucker only got to kick one field goal of 43 yards in the Ravens' 17-10 loss. 

Steelers Long-Snapper Christian Kuntz Gets Shown Some Love

During the conversation about Tucker on his show, Heyward brought up Steelers long-snapper Christian Kuntz. Kuntz is a frequent guest on Heyward's show and Walsh pointed out that he heard Kuntz had been recently recognized for his hard work. 

Kuntz was named to the Duquesne University Hall of Fame. The current long snapper actually played linebacker at Duquesne, which is located in Pittsburgh, from 2012-2016 and was a three-time All-American. He initially bounced around the league, including Pittsburgh, and the XFL as a linebacker until someone at the Dallas Renegades noticed his natural talent as a long-snapper. 

After COVID-19 cut the XFL season short, Kuntz attempted to return to the NFL, making several teams practice squads. Ultimately he ended up back in Pittsburgh where he has been since 2021.    

What do you think about what Mahomes and Kelce did? Do you think they were within their right? Was it disrespectful to Tucker or was Tucker being disrespectful to the Chiefs? Tell us what you think! Click to comment below.

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