PITTSBURGH — Poised to enter his 16th season in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers and longtime defensive captain Cameron Heyward agreed to a one-year extension, Heyward’s agent Michael Perrett told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The extension bumps the total value of Heyward’s two-year contract to $32.25 million with $16.25 million fully guaranteed. Heyward, 37, was scheduled to become a free agent in 2026, but this move not only keeps him under contract through 2027, but it also frees up $5.5 million in cap space for 2026.
Selected by the Steelers in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Heyward, now playing on his fifth NFL contract, has been a force late in his career. He earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2024 after racking up eight sacks, 11 passes defensed and 20 quarterback hits. He followed that up with a second-team All Pro nod in 2025 with one forced fumble, six passes defensed, nine quarterback hits and 3.5 sacks.
He also showed no signs of slowing down as he aged, playing 71% of defensive snaps in each of the last two seasons. Heyward has played complete 17-game seasons in four of the last five years, and he recorded back-to-back seasons of at least 10 sacks from 2021-22. Heyward has 92 career sacks in 15 seasons along with two interceptions and nine forced fumbles.
