Steelers' Cam Heyward Could Reach New Milestone in 2026

The Pittsburgh Steelers have continuously rostered a group of legendary defensive players for a long period of time.

From Troy Polomalu to T.J. Watt, this century has brought an incredible grouping of talent on the defensive side of the football. Yet, the bastion of consistency and star power throughout the last 15 years has been defensive lineman Cam Heyward.

Heyward, now coming up on his age 37 season, approaches a major career milestone wiht a new set of games to set it. Heyward currently sits 8 sacks short of the 100-sack mark for his career, with 92 total sacks across his 15 seasons thus far.

Last season was a tougher one in a statistical sense for Heyward, as he only amassed 3.5 sacks across the entirety of the 2025 campaign. His statistics that season were a microcosm of the team's overall performance, as the team struggled to stay consistent throughout the season on either side of the football.

Heyward's career trajectory has not yet slowed down over the course of multiple seasons, but this upcoming season could reveal a downward trend that would signal a career decline.

Heyward will enter the coming season with his role solidified as a starter, and will occupy the defensive tackle position alongside Keeanu Benton and possibly other players selected by the team through the 2026 NFL Draft, which will take place on the North Shore of Pittsburgh.

It is possible the new coaching staff could change how Heyward plays, as he dealt with a pretty consistent gameplan throughout the vast majority of his career to this point. It would be tough for Heyward to do worse in the coming season if he maintains his health, so the new coaching staff provides an opportunity for Heyward to improve on his numbers and possibly reach that 100 mark.

How Heyward Stacks Up Among Others

If Heyward is to reach the 100 sack mark, he would become the second player in the history of the franchise to do so, joining T.J Watt, who reached the mark during the 2024 season. Heyward would become the 68th player to reach the 100-sack mark, with Myles Garrett being the 67th to do so during the 2025 season.