Three-time All-Pro defensive tackle Cam Heyward said he is considering the possibility of playing the 2025 season with another team amid his ongoing extension dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“I have talked to my wife, and we know the reality, and we have had those talks, and she said it could be fun to play somewhere else,” Heyward said, per The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly. “If that is what is needed to be done, then so be it. But I am still enjoying the ride here this year.”
He continued, per Kaboly: “I don’t even know which way to even lean. We will see what happens. But I can assure you this: I will be playing in 2025, I will tell you that.”
Heyward is currently set to play his 14th NFL season at a cap hit of $22.4 million before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2025.
Heyward is heading into the final season of the four-year, $65 million deal he signed with the Steelers in 2020, which at the time set a record for the highest average annual value ever earned by a defensive player over age 30.
The defensive lineman is now heading into his age-35 season, and his age and the injuries he suffered during the 2023 campaign could be reasons the Steelers have not yet committed to an extension.
Heyward, who had not missed a regular-season game due to injury since 2016, suffered a training camp groin injury last summer that was exacerbated by a tackle in Week 1.
The injury necessitated surgery and six games on the sideline, and continued to limit him even after his return. Heyward then underwent another surgery in February.
The veteran rejoined the Steelers earlier this week for the team’s third week of voluntary OTAs, during which he said he was no longer limited by the injury and believed he could return to his former Pro Bowl-caliber play.
“I want to be valued at my position,” Heyward said on June 4, per Steelers.com’s Dale Lolley. “I understand I am coming off a rough season, but I don’t think it’s a step down of where I can play. I think when I’m at the top of my game, I’m still a top-five player at my position.”
According to Lolley, Heyward said at the time he plans to play for three more years. Because the Steelers generally do not negotiate contracts during the season, general manager Omar Khan has until Sept. 8 if he wants to make sure all three take place in Pittsburgh.
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