Jason Mackey: Cam Heyward’s new deal makes sense. Now, it's time for Steelers to win

Jason Mackey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Two seemingly far-fetched storylines dominated Steelers OTAs, minicamp and training camp at Saint Vincent College: Cam Heyward’s contract and the dalliance — however serious — with 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

As far as the one that landed, I’m good with it.

While it’s hard to dispute Aiyuk’s on-field abilities, don’t overlook the impact of them getting something done with Heyward late Tuesday afternoon, a logical deal that seems to make plenty of sense for both sides.

By agreeing to a new three-year contract worth $45 million, the Steelers will prevent Heyward from wearing another helmet, something he has spoken publicly about wanting to avoid.

Heyward, who will be under contract until after the 2026 season, when he will be 37, won’t be paid like one of the top five defensive tackles in the league … and never should have been.

That’s not a yearly amount that fits his age and recent injury history, though I think Heyward can still be plenty productive in 2025.

What it does, though, is give the Steelers an important piece of their defensive line and pass rush while retaining a six-time Pro Bowler at a reasonable rate.

Someone who should be plenty motivated after an injury-marred 2023, too.

Good on all involved.

Heyward, after a brief period where he said he was going to hold out, returned to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex and was a consistent presence for offseason workouts. He remained with the team the entire time, though he did not play in any preseason games for fairly obvious reasons.

If Heyward’s initial ask was a starting point with context, I get it. I also understand the Steelers not wanting to overpay to the tune of $24 million or so per season.

Instead, the Steelers seemingly met Heyward in the middle, which is exactly what should have happened.

Looking at very rough numbers, should Heyward find anywhere near his peak form, he’s worth $15 million per season, most notable when it comes to what he means to the Steelers stopping the run and rushing the passer, as well as his off-field work.

The Heyward House, Walter Payton Man of the Year, you know plenty by now what Heyward has meant to Pittsburgh over the course of his career.

Better still, the Steelers, per our Gerry Dulac, saved more than $9 million by converting Heyward’s $16 million salary this year into a signing bonus.

When this entire story first broke, one of the things I thought was that team president Art Rooney II and Heyward needed to get in a room and figure out how to achieve something they both appeared to want: no silliness and the proper end to his career here.

It felt similar to Bryan Reynolds and Bob Nutting on the Pirates' side, which is how that deal got done.

The middle ground created what seemingly isn’t possible in sports anymore: a deal that works for both sides.

It also shoves into the background a story that should be history, given the team’s goals.

Nobody knows about the Steelers’ recent playoff drought more than Heyward, the frustration experienced, how they’ve fallen woefully short in the playoffs, how the standard hasn’t been the standard when it comes to competing beyond the regular season.

For as much as Heyward deserved to be paid based on his 80.5 sacks, tying him with James Harrison for second in Steelers history behind T.J. Watt (96.5), it pales in comparison to team success.

Or the lack of it, recently.

But with Heyward, Keeanu Benton and Larry Ogunjobi, the Steelers should actually be solid up front. The question becomes how they fare in the margins, and if they can get enough from Dean Lowry, DeMarvin Leal or Isaiahh Loudermilk as rotational players.

We’ll see. No guarantees.

But I do know it would have been unfortunate, impactful or both for the Steelers to go into this season without having accomplished anything with Heyward, the awkwardness of this being his last season still very much fresh.

Bottom line: Cam Heyward should have never been playing for another team. He means too much. It took longer than it should have, but at least one of the team’s offseason storylines reached a palatable and reasonable conclusion.