ORCHARD PARK -- The Pittsburgh Steelers' dramatic in-season turnaround gave them a surprise playoff berth and a shot at the No. 2-seeded Buffalo Bills. But after a 31-17 loss at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, the team is faced with a mountain of questions.
Mainstay defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, who is set to turn 35 years old between now and the start of the 2024 season, added to those questions with an emotional postgame press conference during which he left his future in professional football open-ended.
“In my heart, I want to play, but it's been rough," Heyward said. "I need to take the offseason to get healthy again, battling back through a groin. It's one thing to walk off after a groin and it's another to play football and there's been some other stuff. But it's definitely been another season that I just wanted to put my hand in that pile."
Heyward said he dealt with more pain in his body than the public might have known. He injured his groin and was sidelined for six games. Then Heyward had to manage that injury, plus discomfort in his knee, throughout the season.
"It was a grind just to get ready for each game," Heyward said. "It wasn't by my choice to not practice. It was to get me to the game and I don't like doing - I don't like playing football that way. I don't ever want to cheat the game, I don't ever want to think I'm not going to be 100% but that was the cards I was dealt this year. It was a lot."
Heyward played in the final 11 games of the season, accounting for 39 tackles, two sacks, seven tackles for loss and a pass defended.
And while the wear and tear on his body has made Heyward question how much longer he can take the grind of another full NFL season, he is still chasing the kind of playoff success that has made the Steelers one of the biggest brands in the NFL. He's know teammates who enjoyed those kinds of wins and that keeps him coming back.
"That's the thing that bugs me the most at night, not having a chance to win a Super Bowl," Heyward said. "Seeing all my teammates before that won it, seeing all the culture and tradition here, every man should feel that way. It stings to be out of the playoffs, to not have a chance to continue to move on and, man, I'm not ready to give that up."
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