There is reason to believe that the contractual impasse between Cam Heyward and the Steelers could become ugly

Cam Heyward, no matter how things shake out over the next few weeks and months, will always be noted as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The two sides continue to have a stalemate when it comes to a contract extension, and with the calendar turning to July, Pittsburgh's hard deadline of September 8th is now two months away.

So unless something changes over the next 8 weeks, there's a chance that Heyward stages a hold-in during training camp, only weakening the valued relationship between he and the organization.

Heyward to hold in?

"Day one of camp, I wouldn't be surprised if Cam Heyward reports, but does not practice and stages a hold-in," Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette told 93.7 The Fan recently. "It will be interesting to see how that plays out because I'm not convinced the Steelers would be in any hurry to get a deal done stretching all the way to the regular season. If you look at some of the successful guys who have leveraged contracts for the Steelers in recent years, Diontae Johnson for one, T.J. Watt for another, I think Cam Heyward can go that route."

Heyward already tried leveraging a holdout over the Steelers during OTAs, but the plan backfired when Keeanu Benton was generating rave reviews as a leader in Heyward's absence. The Steelers captain would then show up for the final week of OTAs and minicamp.

But if you thought his absence over that period of time created fodder, a hold-in at training camp would be an even bigger storyline and an ugly one for Pittsburgh.

The Steelers would love to keep Heyward, but being 35 and coming off an injury-plagued year, they would much rather address it in the offseason. Heyward wants more security — he has said he wants to play for three more years, thus the impasse. Heyward didn’t show up for a portion of the offseason workouts but did return for the final week of OTAs and minicamp. He’s not optimistic, at this point, that a deal will get done, but he’s been in a similar position before eventually signing before the season. It’s a complicated issue with Heyward being the face of the franchise, but he is coming off two groin surgeries over five months and is a shell of himself. At 35, not many comps are around for his position, further complicating the issue.

— Mark Kaboly, The Athletic

Heyward is the kind of player who puts on one helmet for his career and sticks to it. But even though he's laughed off self-imposed rumors of him playing in Cleveland and reiterated that Pittsburgh is the place he wants to be , money talks, and if Pittsburgh keeps quiet, there's reason to believe he will listen to other teams.

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