Cameron Heyward opens up about Connor Heyward leaving Steelers for Raiders

Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward was able to share an NFL locker room with his brother and tight end/fullback Connor Heyward from the time Pittsburgh made Connor a sixth-round draft pick in 2022 through this past January. 

However, Connor recently signed a two-year contract worth $5.5M with $2M guaranteed to join the Las Vegas Raiders. On the latest edition of his podcast, Cameron opened up about no longer having Connor as a teammate. 

Cameron Heyward "very thankful" Connor Heyward got a deserved deal

"I'm very thankful that he gets to be recognized as who he is," Cameron said about Connor, per Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "He doesn't have to walk in my shadow. He doesn't have to walk in my dad's shadow. I don't think fans really appreciate what he did. He was a core special teamer, also made big plays on offense. And that adds a lot of value. And I think a lot of people overlooked that and didn't understand his role and what he was capable of."

The perception exists that recently hired Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy viewed Connor Heyward as surplus to requirements. As Levi Edwards of the Raiders' website noted, new Las Vegas head coach Klint Kubiak has a history of using two or more running backs on the field at the same time. Thus, Kubiak may be more willing to embrace Connor Heyward's overall strengths as a traditional fullback than McCarthy would be. 

Cameron Heyward addresses critics of Connor Heyward's Steelers stint

Fair or not, some have suggested over the years that Connor Heyward was on the Steelers roster only because of the franchise's respect for Cameron Heyward. Cameron seemed to have plenty to say to such individuals. 

"For all the people who will not get a chance to keep talking about him and who went out of their way to do some very inappropriate stuff, bring that s— onto me because I'll handle it, and I'll expose you if you wanna go down that route," Cameron added during his defense of Connor. "Connor is very forgiving, and Connor has always tried to keep it professional to an extent. I'm on my way out of this thing. I'll handle it the right way. I've told people to quit talking about my little brother, but I'll handle it from here on out."

Connor now will have an opportunity to prove his worth away from a Steelers team that has employed Cameron since the 2011 draft.