On his most recent “Not Just Football” podcast, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive captain Cameron Heyward had a lot to say about the team’s elongated quarterback search.
When he ran out of words, he actually said a lot more.
“I think, just (insert exasperated sigh here) … I want to play football,” Heyward told co-host Hayden Walsh. “I’m tired of talking about the quarterback situation. I’d rather have it done. I don’t know what ends up happening. I don’t know, man. This is … ugghh … I’m ready to move on in free agency. There is too much going on.”
Indeed, when it comes to the Steelers quarterback situation, I think Heyward speaks for all of us when he says, “ugghh.”
I may need a spellcheck on that. It may have been more of a “pffft,” or a “grrrrr.” But if a picture says 1,000 words, then that sound made by Heyward says 2,000.
Walsh followed up by asking Heyward if the Steelers asked him to recruit free agent QB Aaron Rodgers, would he be willing to do one of Rodgers’ fabled darkness retreats with him to convince him to sign in Pittsburgh.
“I ain’t doing that darkness retreat. I don’t need any of that crap,” Heyward shot back. “Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or you don’t. It’s that simple. That’s the pitch. If you want me to recruit. That’s the recruiting pitch: Pittsburgh Steelers. If you want to be a part of it, so be it. If you don’t, no skin off my back.”
Heyward’s mixed metaphor at the end of that quote aside, we get the point. Unfortunately, there’s an inconsistency in what he said. Heyward did encourage Darius Slay to sign here this offseason. He helped recruit Russell Wilson here last offseason.
In other words, making a pitch to a free agent is not beyond the norm for Heyward. I’m getting the impression that this is simply a pitch he doesn’t want to make.
So, Steelers players are sick of the Aaron Rodgers drama, and Rodgers hasn’t even signed on to play the leading role yet.
I’ll disagree with Heyward on one point, though. Just saying “Pittsburgh Steelers” in 2025 is not an adequate pitch. That’s the case whether we are talking about Slay, Wilson Rodgers, Johnny Unitas or Johnny Utah.
The Steelers are not a destination team anymore. The “everybody wants to play for Mike Tomlin” myth is busted every offseason. It’s just absent-mindedly reincarnated by the national media each July when training camp rolls around.
If “everybody” wanted to play for Tomlin that badly, Rodgers might be here by now. Or Sam Darnold would’ve signed. Or Justin Fields would have stayed. Like everything else in pro sports, “everyone wants to play for Mike Tomlin … until another team offers one dollar more.”
More sports
• 2026 NFL Draft: Main stage to be outside Acrisure Stadium; Point State Park to host festival
• Andy Toole will lead Robert Morris into NCAA Tournament while seeing beyond the game
• West Virginia loses coach Darian DeVries to Indiana
But on the broader points about Rodgers and the quarterback situation, I’m completely with Heyward. Rodgers playing things out this long may have already hindered the Steelers’ ability to bolster the defensive line in free agency. It may be slowing any dialogue that could be directed toward manufacturing a George Pickens trade, or figuring out a way to reclaim the second-round pick that was used to acquire DK Metcalf.
“You can take however long. I think when you start putting teams up against others … I don’t even like to get into that,”Heyward added. “That’s not my business. I will never tell a man what to do or how to do it, but if you want to be a part of the group, be a part of the group.”
Unfortunately, Cam, ugghh, I don’t think that is happening anytime soon.
Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden discuss the ongoing Steelers QB saga