Despite an offensive exodus, Pittsburgh Steelers veteran Cameron Heyward has told fans not to panic.
“Was I surprised? Yeah,” Heyward said of the trade. “But, you know, the game is the game, and I know it benefits both teams. We get another third-round pick; they get a wide receiver to go along with CeeDee Lamb. Would I have liked to see George and D.K. play together? Yeah. But hopefully there’s something in the works, I don’t know.”
Heyward pointed out that the Steelers have given second contracts to just three wide receivers.
Steelers legend Hines Ward signed a four-year contract extension in 2001 and played the rest of his 14-year career in Pittsburgh. Antonio Brown signed a five-year extension in 2012, then a third extension in 2017. He played with the Steelers until 2018 before being traded to the Oakland Raiders. Diontae Johnson signed a two-year extension in 2022 and played another season before being traded to the Carolina Panthers. JuJu Smith-Schuster was not extended by the Steelers, though he signed a one-year deal in free agency with the team in 2021.
“I think [we’ve] got to look at the track record with trading wide receivers,” Heyward said. “There’s been some good history behind this...for the most part, they know when to resign and when to trade. We'll see what happens. We could be a better team because of it.”
The Steelers have a young wide receiver room. They acquired D.K. Metcalf in a trade with the Seahawks in March and signed veteran Robert Woods in free agency. They also have veterans Scotty Miller and Ben Skowronek, 2022 fourth-round pick Calvin Austin III, 2024 third-round pick Roman Wilson, 2024 signees Brandon Johnson and Lance McCutcheon, and 2025 undrafted free agents Roc Taylor and Ke'Shawn Williams.
“For the fans that are out of control, go take a vacation,” Heyward said.
“We got time, and who’s to say we can’t build someone in our own home? I think sometimes you look for the sexy pick...just trying to get a proven product. Why don’t you make your own product? Why don’t we just grow from within and make the players the players, and watch them prosper?
“I think sometimes you’re just looking for a quick and easy fix, and that’s not always the answer,” he said.
“I think the main thing is, and this is a PSA for all Steeler fans: don’t panic,” the veteran said. “Stay patient. We'll get to work. I think sometimes we can jump off the ship and think the ship is sinking. [We’ve] got work to do. Whoever won the off-season isn’t going to win the regular season, and is not going to win a Super Bowl, so I’m locked in on that, locked in on having a good year, and I hope my teammates are too.”
The Steelers are coming off a season in which they started strong, but collapsed at the end of the regular season, losing their last four games, and in turn losing the AFC North to the Baltimore Ravens. They subsequently lost to the Ravens in the Wild Card round. Starting quarterback Russell Wilson signed a one-year deal with the New York Giants, while Justin Fields, who started the first six games while Wilson was injured, signed a two-year deal with the New York Jets.
