Latest news with #CameronHeyward
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ben Roethlisberger Offers T.J. Watt Update
Ben Roethlisberger Offers T.J. Watt Update originally appeared on Athlon Sports. As a franchise steeped in continuity, there's an uneasy feeling whenever a Pittsburgh Steelers stalwart puts that status in doubt. Advertisement Ahead of the 2024 season, it was defensive tackle Cameron Heyward's turn to test the waters. Coming off an injury-plagued season, Heyward was in search of a new deal that ensured he'd be paid handsomely to spend the twilight of his career in Western Pennsylvania. At first, the Steelers didn't budge. Ultimately, a deal got done, and Heyward put forth an incredible bounce-back season, logging eight sacks on the way to All-Pro honors. A year later, edge rusher T.J. Watt is due for an extension. Cleveland Browns superstar Myles Garrett's recent four-year, $160 million deal has raised the stakes, and Watt is holding out in hopes of approaching (if not surpassing) that number. Steelers legend Ben Roethlisberger gave an update on Watt's contract negotiations now that he held himself out of minicamp. Advertisement "It's interesting because this is now a mandatory minicamp," Roethlisberger said. "So he can be fined. It'll be interesting to see if the Steelers decide to fine him or not because they don't have to ... Last time this happened was four years ago when T.J. was looking for a new contract. The difference is, he's holding out, which means he is not there. Last time, he held in, which means, 'I'm going to come, I'll be here, but I'm not participating.'" Like Heyward, Watt is coming to the table after an underwhelming year with some level of concerns attached to his age. Heyward, well into his 30s with two sacks in 2023, managed to come to an agreement. Watt still posted 11.5 sacks in 2024 and is only entering his age-31 season. Watt would like to be the highest-paid defensive player in football. Pittsburgh, presumably on the hook for ~$20 million more than it anticipated entering the offseason, is understandably taking its time. "This year, he's not there," Roethlisberger said. "You asked the question of what's the difference? I don't know, only T.J. knows the difference. My only speculation and guess is like, they must not be close. If you were close, I would think that T.J. would do what he did last time." Advertisement For now, the two seem far apart. But the Steelers are incentivized to keep Watt around, and his run defense should keep him among the best edge rushers in the sport, even if his pass-rushing decline proves to be more than a blip on the radar. Until then, the Pittsburgh faithful will continue to hold their breath, hoping that gap is addressed before his absence becomes meaningful. Related: AFC North Rival Sets Bar for Watt Extension Related: Steelers Legend Chimes in on T.J. Watt's Absence This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cameron Heyward, Pat Freiermuth React to Steelers Signing Aaron Rodgers
Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and tight end Pat Freiermuth react to Pittsburgh finally landing quarterback Aaron Rodgers. The Pittsburgh Steelers signing of quarterback Aaron Rodgers has received a lot of mixed responses, but defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and tight end Pat Freiermuth believe it was a good thing. Advertisement 'He brings the leadership. We were talking about this last night. Dude's a four-time MVP. That is nothing to look over. Got a chance to meet him. Very nice and approachable. I'm just excited to get down to business,' Heyward said on the latest episode of 'Not Just Football with Cam Heyward.' 'He's gonna teach a lot of the offensive players how to go about business, and I think that's what we need.' Freiermuth is one of the offensive players that Rodgers will likely rely on early and often throughout the Steelers 2025 campaign. And he thinks the 41-year-old still has plenty of gas left in the tank. 'I'm excited, man,' Freiermuth said. 'Obviously, I think he's gonna help us win. He's a Hall of Fame quarterback for a reason. I was watching some film on him. He's still got some arm strength and he's still an unbelievable quarterback. So excited to get working with him finally.' Advertisement Rodgers looked far from his four-time NFL MVP self while leading the New York Jets to a very disappointing 5-12 finish last season. But his numbers weren't as bad as the team's record, completing 368 of his 584 passes (63%) for 3,897 yards, 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 20, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now Only time will tell what version of Rodgers Pittsburgh will get in 2025, but some of the team's top players seem to be on board with the signing. That is the first step to getting a team to buy in, especially one that's hoping to end its eight-year playoff win drought. 'Excited that he's finally part of the team,' Freiermuth added. 'We can put all the if he's coming comments to the side and really focus on winning this year.' Advertisement This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Cameron Heyward, Pat Freiermuth React to Steelers Signing Aaron Rodgers Related Headlines
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jets Star ‘Disappointed' Aaron Rodgers Signed with Steelers
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 20, 2024. -- Ed Thompson / Steelers Now One of the New York Jets best players was disappointed to see quarterback Aaron Rodgers join the Pittsburgh Steelers. The New York Jets seemed more than happy to part ways with quarterback Aaron Rodgers when they announced their plans to release him in March. That feeling wasn't mutual throughout the entire organization, though. Advertisement Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward revealed that Jets star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was not so happy to see the four-time NFL MVP go. 'One guy I really trust is Quinnen Williams, so I had some conversations about that,' Heyward said on the latest episode of 'Not Just Football with Cam Heyward.' 'Q. spoke so highly of him, said he was a great teammate, really loved playing with him. I think he was kind of disappointed that Aaron wasn't coming back there for another season.' It isn't Rodgers fault that he isn't returning to New York this season. In fact, he was interested in staying, despite the team's coaching staff turnover. Advertisement However, he revealed on 'The Pat McAfee Show' in April that he was fired less than one minute into the meeting, and that didn't sit well with him. 'I figured that when I flew across country on my own dime that there was going to be a conversation,' Rodgers said. '20 seconds in, he goes … 'So, do you want to play football?' And I was like, 'Yeah, I'm interested.' And he said, 'We're going in a different direction at quarterback.' I was kind of shocked. … You could have told me this on the phone if we weren't even going to have a conversation.' New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Oct. 20, 2024. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now The Steelers are more than happy to use the adage, 'One man's trash is another man's treasure' in this scenario, though. Advertisement Before Rodgers signed with Pittsburgh, the team's only quarterbacks under contract were Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson, and sixth-round rookie Will Howard. So the Steelers were more than happy to sign Rodgers on a very team-friendly deal this late into the offseason. 'I think we're in a good position,' Heyward continued. 'Every teammate that he's had has talked very highly of him, so it's definitely a step in the right direction, bringing him over here.' This article originally appeared on Steelers Now: Jets Star 'Disappointed' Aaron Rodgers Signed with Steelers Related Headlines
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ranking the 10 best Steelers headed into OTAs
As things stand right now, just days before the start of the Pittsburgh Steelers' OTAs, a case could be made that Pittsburgh has at best the third-best roster in the AFC North and could be the worst roster in the division. Pittsburgh's roster has been turned over on some level for the past four seasons but the team still can't seem to find the right mix of draft picks and free agents to get back to prominence in the AFC North. We've gone over the current Steelers roster and as we tried to rank the 10 best players on the team and it wasn't easy. As we broke it all down and sorted out the 10 best players, there were two players we couldn't in good conscience put on the list. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and quarterback Mason Rudolph missed the cut despite being at the most important positions on the team. Advertisement Here are our Top 10 Steelers currently on the roster: 1 - EDGE T.J. Watt Despite a down season in 2024, Watt is still the team's best player and we only hope he can bounce back in 2025. 2 - DT Cameron Heyward The ageless wonder had one of his best seasons in 2024. 3 - C Zach Frazier Absolutely elite young center who started 15 games in 2024 and is poised to be the next great Steelers center. 4 - K Chris Boswell Never exclude the Steelers best scoring threat from any list. We could have easily put Boswell at No. 1 on this list given his value to the team. 5 - WR DK Metcalf It says a lot about the Steelers issues on offense when Metcalf is ranked this high, having never played a snap for the Steelers yet. 6 - TE Pat Freiermuth You can't punish Freiermuth for the fact his coaches and quarterbacks can't figure out how to get him the football. 7 - CB Joey Porter Jr. If Porter could have built off his rookie season in 2023, he'd have been ranked much higher. 8 - EDGE Alex Highsmith We continue to root for Highsmith to take that next step and become an elite edge rusher. 9 - LB Patrick Queen By the time we got here, it was really down to Queen, Fitzpatrick and Harmon. We put Queen here but any of the three would make sense. 10 - DT Derrick Harmon Including a rookie on this list is more of an indictment of the Steelers roster than a positive for Harmon. We could have put running back Kaleb Johnson here just as easily. This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers roster: Top 10 players headed into OTAs
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bengals' heated rival comments on Trey Hendrickson standoff
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson showing up at practice and giving a 20-minute interview about his contract drama with the team commanded the attention of the NFL. That includes direct rivals such as the Pittsburgh Steelers, who probably aren't all that upset about the standoff between the NFL's sack leader and a team that can't afford to be without him. Advertisement Steelers star Cameron Heyward even joked about the situation when asked on an episode of "Not Just Football with Cam Heyward" recently. "They don't have enough money," Heyward said. "I dare you to go pay him." RELATED: Cincinnati Bengals 2025 game-by-game predictions following schedule release If nothing else, it speaks to the perception of the Bengals right now nationally. The longer the Hendrickson drama continues, the more the goodwill from paying up big for Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins fades. It's not that simple, of course. The Bengals agree Hendrickson is underpaid and want a new deal for him. But he's under contract for one more year after signing a recent short-term extension and has threatened holdouts and retirements in past years that haven't come to fruition. The fact he's 30 years old throws more leverage to the team, as he's unlikely to sit out. But apparent promises about contract extensions and a lack of communication from the team has turned things ugly, publicly. Advertisement As always, it's on the Bengals to sort matters like these out to steer public perception in better directions. But until then, rivals and everyone else will have their say like this. RELATED: Bengals schedule release: Quick thoughts on primetime games and more This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals' heated rival comments on Trey Hendrickson standoff
