Cam Heyward is still going strong as he closes in on the Steelers' record for longevity

If Cam Heyward keeps getting new contracts or years added to his deal, he will creep closer to a Steelers record not many players could ever sniff.

Heyward's latest deal - a two-year contract worth $32.25 million signed in March - will keep the four-time first-team All-Pro with the Steelers through the 2027 season. When it expires, the defenseman lineman will be 38.

That will also be Heyward's 17th season with the team. That will be one shy of the Steelers record for longevity held by Ben Roethlisberger, the only quarterback in NFL history to spend all 18 seasons with the same team.

But it would tie the NFL record for defensive linemen held by Julius Adams, who played 17 seasons with the New England Patriots from 1971-1987.

"That's the challenge you live up to - not dwelling on what you've done in the past but trying to attack the future," Heyward said.

To be sure, it is a different time for Heyward.

His entire career was spent playing for Mike Tomlin, who drafted Heyward in the first round in 2011 and watched him develop into one of the best defensive linemen in franchise history.

Now he will wind down his career with a new head coach in Mike McCarthy, plus two new defensive coaches in coordinator Patrick Graham and line coach Domata Peko.

Heyward has been around long enough that he played against Peko many times when Peko was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

"It's a different challenge," Heyward said. "I've just tried to be open to it, just try to learn. It's not like there can only be one good coach in the league. I've always admired coach McCarthy from afar. I just want to learn. I think the easiest thing to do is put your ego aside and just learn from great coaches."

That doesn't mean having a new head coach here in Pittsburgh does not feel odd at times for the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year.

"[Tomlin and I] used to park next to each other every day, so that's been a little bit different," he said. "But it can't mean we can't both succeed in our next chapter and making sure we all have a chance to grow from that."

The Steelers have adjusted Heyward's contract for each of the past three seasons, usually because of demands he has made to the team to reward him for his performance.

Largely the demands were warranted, especially after the 2024 season, when he had eight sacks and 11 passes batted - the most by an NFL lineman - and was named first-team All-Pro for the fourth time.

So Heyward staged a hold-in at training camp last summer, not taking part in team drills and threatening to sit out games if his contract wasn't restructured.

The Steelers have a policy of not extending contracts when a player still has two years remaining on his deal, so Heyward had to settle for having playoff incentives added to his contract.

This year, even though his production dipped in 2025, the Steelers added another year to his contract, which was scheduled to pay him $14.25 million in salary and a $12.95 million roster bonus in 2026. The Steelers guaranteed that amount as part of the new deal.

Heyward is coming off a season in which he played more snaps than any Steelers defensive lineman and was named second-team All-Pro. His sack totals (3½), tackles for loss (nine) and passes defensed (six) dropped from the previous season, but he continued to be the team's best lineman.

"There's a lot of gas in the tank," he said. "I think last year left a bitter taste in our mouth, but then you add guys like Jamel Dean, Jaquan Brisker, Sebastian Joseph-Day - it's a multitude of that, and then our younger guys continue to grow, which benefits us. Hopefully our older guys are still on the cusp of getting better."

Heyward seems to prove that every year.

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