Report: Steelers' Cameron Heyward plans to skip OTAs barring contract extension

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive captain Cam Heyward, whose salary cap hit for 2024 is second-highest on the team as he enters the final year of his contract, plans to hold out of organized team activities unless he receives an extension, ESPN reported Wednesday.

Heyward is coming off a season in which he was limited to 11 games because of a core muscle injury, and he turned 35 earlier this month. Heyward, a six-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time first-team All-Pro pick, received the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in February at the Super Bowl for his charitable contributions.

The Steelers begin OTAs on May 21. They started holding voluntary offseason workouts at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex in mid-April, and ESPN reported that Heyward hasn’t attended any of those sessions. Mandatory minicamp for Steelers players takes place June 11-13.

Heyward has continued his community service efforts and appeared last week on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” He is recovering from offseason surgery and wasn’t expected to take part in much physical activity at OTAs as a concession to the procedure.

Entering his 14th season, Heyward is scheduled to count $22.4 million against the cap, a figure exceeded on the Steelers only by T.J. Watt’s $30.4 million total. Heyward’s contract includes $16 million in base salary.

The Steelers have made no attempt to reduce Heyward’s salary cap number this season. It was a tact they took earlier this decade when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was entering the final season of his contract.

Heyward is in the final year of an extension that he signed in September 2020.

In 2023, Heyward finished with just two sacks in 11 games, his fewest number of quarterback takedowns since 2012 when he was a rotational player. Before last season, Heyward had reached double figures in sacks in back-to-back seasons and three times in his career.