At one point, it was a running joke. Like the summer thought of a Pittsburgh Steelers Pony backfield, the team always preached a desire and plan to reduce DL Cam Heyward’s snaps. Then the season would begin, and that thought would disposed directly into the trash can. Heyward was their anchor, they suffered without him, other players got hurt, and the team did what it had to do to win games. Which meant playing Heyward as often as possible.
Now 35 and coming off an injury-marred 2023 season, the Steelers have finally figured it out.
On the season, Heyward is logging 72 percent of the Steelers’ defensive snaps.