Steelers News: No contract talk yet for Cam Heyward

It has been a one-of-a-kind offseason for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2020. With the scheduled start of training camp now behind us, it looks like we’ll have to wait until opening weekend to see the Steelers take the field. Just because the NFL has cancelled the preseason doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take a look at the lack of progress on a new contract for Cameron Heyward beyond the 2020 season.

Let’s get to the news:

• With the salary cap a huge question mark for 2021, Heyward still hopes for a new deal in Pittsburgh

Cam Heyward, Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t had serious talks on new deal, agent says

By: Jeremy Fowler, ESPN

All-Pro defensive lineman Cam Heyward would like to retire as a Pittsburgh Steeler, but he is concerned that might not happen due to a lack of movement on a contract extension.

Heyward enters the final year of his deal, and there have been no substantive contract discussions between the Steelers’ front office and Heyward’s agent, Michael Perrett of Element Sports Group.

The sides have had broad discussions about Heyward’s future but in no particular terms.

“I thought we’d be further along in the process. In a normal year, we might be,” Perrett told ESPN. “The current situation [with the pandemic] has led to a lot of uncertainty, but NFL business is still moving forward. Cam would love to retire a Steeler, but at this point, he just doesn’t know how all of this is going to play out.”

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• More comments from defensive coordinator Keith Butler in regards to linebackers Vince Williams and Devin Bush

It’ll be Vince and Devin at ILB

By: Bob Labriola, Steelers.com

Given the current configuration of the defense, specifically the inside linebacker position, it was an easy decision for them. And the reason why the Steelers saw it as an easy decision is simple to understand.

As defensive coordinator Keith Butler said early during a Friday afternoon Zoom call with the Pittsburgh media, “(Devin) and Vince will be playing inside linebacker for us this year.”

Following the 2018 season, the Steelers knew they had to make significant upgrades to their defense, specifically for those times when the football was in the air. It began with the signing of unrestricted free agent cornerback Steven Nelson, but then a bigger move came in the first round of the NFL Draft.

The Steelers traded up 10 spots in the first round and picked Devin Bush, a player they believed could be the three-down linebacker they lost when Ryan Shazier sustained a spinal injury during a game in Cincinnati in December 2017. Once they got Bush, they threw him into the deep end of the pool, and it was sink or swim.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Both James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster need to take strides regardless of who is taking the snaps

For JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner, it can’t just be ‘Ben is back!’

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The impact of Ben Roethlisberger’s absence on the 2019 Steelers offense extended well beyond who was throwing the football.

Sure, the Steelers’ starting quarterback does that better than his backups, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. That’s why the Steelers were only an eight-win team last season instead of one that would’ve likely gone to the playoffs with double-digit victories.

Aside from the few seconds that exist between the quarterback accepting the snap from the center and delivering it through the air, there are so many other things impacted by who is playing that position:

• How the opposing defense lines up in terms of respecting the pass or assuming run and attacking the line.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

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