Mike Tomlin expects Cam Heyward to play in Steelers' season opener against Jets

Despite holding in and not practicing for much of training camp, Cam Heyward is expected to start Sunday for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they open the season against the New York Jets.

Heyward hinted last month that he was open to sitting out regular-­season games if he doesn’t get a reworked contract, but coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that the team’s longest-tenured player will be on the field at MetLife Stadium.

“I’m certainly expecting Cam to play,” Tomlin said at his weekly news conference.

Heyward continued to play coy Tuesday when asked on his podcast whether he will play Week 1.

“We’ll see,” Heyward said.

Heyward, 36, has two years left on the contract he signed last summer, and, Monday, he was named a team captain for the 11th consecutive season. He believes he outplayed the terms of that deal when he was named first-team All-Pro for the fourth time in his career. Heyward collected a $13.45 million roster bonus in March and will play on a $1.3 million base salary this season.

When he last spoke to reporters Aug. 11, Heyward indicated he would like a portion of next year’s $12.95 million roster bonus applied to this year’s salary, but the Steelers have held firm that they negotiate contracts only when a non-quarterback has one year remaining.

Heyward, who has not made himself available for interviews in recent weeks, resumed practicing late in training camp but did not play in the preseason, which isn’t out of the norm.

“Cam doesn’t play a lot in team development the last several years,” Tomlin said. “My job is to get him in and out of Latrobe. I’ve done my job. There are no reservations about his participation or readiness. I’m sure he’s champing at the bit.”

Heyward conducted a “hold-in” in 2020 when he was seeking a new contract, and he skipped most voluntary organized team activities in 2024 while awaiting his contract.

Tomlin doesn’t think Heyward needs much work to be ready for the start of a season.

“His runway required to take off is short relative to others,” he said.

Likewise, T.J. Watt returned from his “hold-in” during the 2021 preseason just a few days ahead of the season opener. He had two sacks and a forced fumble to help the Steelers defeat the Buffalo Bills.

“You go through things with people and can learn what they can manage in terms of readiness,” Tomlin said.

The Steelers are already down one member of the defensive line. Rookie first-round pick Derrick Harmon was ruled out by Tomlin from playing in the opener because of a knee injury. Fellow rookie Yahya Black is listed as the backup to Harmon on the depth chart the Steelers released Tuesday. Isaiahh Loudermilk and Daniel Ekuale are listed as the backups to Heyward and nose tackle Keeanu Benton, respectively.

“It’s going to be a committee of people,” Tomlin said. “I’m sure it would have been a committee of people were (Harmon) available. We play a lot of D-linemen particularly early in the season due to a lack of conditioning and the potential heat.”

The Steelers have only three players from the 2024 season remaining on the defensive line: Heyward, Loudermilk and Benton. The makeover was done largely because of the way last season unfolded with the Steelers giving up 299 yards rushing in a 28-14 playoff loss at Baltimore. Quarterback Lamar Jackson had 81 rushing yards, and Tomlin expects the Jets to use new quarterback Justin Fields in a similar fashion.

“I don’t tote last year’s bags,” Tomlin said. “That’s an agenda that needs to be addressed this year. Quarterback mobility and the designed run component is a component of today’s game. We’ve done things at a lot of levels to further strengthen ourselves. … We certainly have some schematic things up our sleeve that I won’t disclose.”

The Steelers’ new-look front also will be tested by running backs Breece Hall and Braelon Allen. The Jets finished No. 31 in rushing offense last season but switched coaches, bringing in Aaron Glenn from the Detroit Lions.

Tomlin said the Hall-Allen tandem reminds him of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery with the Lions. Hall led the Jets with 876 rushing yards, and he caught 57 passes for 483 yards while totaling eight touchdowns.

“Coach Glenn has been very transparent about their desire to run the football and their commitment to doing so,” Tomlin said. “That has our attention.”