Heyward takes legacy
Veteran ready to carry on culture after retirement of Roethlisberger
LASVEGAS — When Ben Roethlisberger played his final game in Pittsburgh last month,what millions around theworld saw was his victory lap around Heinz Field, his last walk down the tunnel with his family and his contemplative moments sitting onthe bench one more time.
What fewer people saw was Cam Heyward, his longtime fellow captain, embracing Roethlisberger in the locker room, whole team huddled around them, and a makeshift players-only ceremony. Heyward — who’s now the longest-tenured Steeler — handed Roethlisberger a nice bottle of wine, a gift from the entire squad, signedby each player.
“Just a congratulations,” Heyward said Thursday, as he was interrupted by rookie running back and Pro Bowl alternate Najee Harris, who had his own take on what the team presented to Roethlisberger.
“It was a bottle of some Hennessy,” Harris joked. “It was a bottle of some ‘Hen Dawg,’ that ‘Dawg Water,’ boy!”
Given what Heyward was being asked about at the Pro Bowl, it was actually a fitting interruption from Harris, injecting his youthful levity into Heyward discussing what could be considered grown folks’ business. Fresh off his rookie year, Harris will embrace taking on more of a leadership role — especially for a young offense — but compared to Heyward, he’sgot a lot to learn.
“This is one of my children,” Heyward said with a smileas Harris cackled in the background. “My child has not grown up yet. We’ve still got to work through some stuff.”
It was all fun and games for the AFC team at their light-hearted practice, but in all seriousness, Heyward is now the last of a dying breed. He’s the only Steelers player who’s been with the organization more than seven seasons, and thus the only one who rubbed elbows with the likes of Troy Polamalu, James Farrior, Casey Hampton, Brett Kiesel, Aaron Smithand Larry Foote.
Regardless of who was on offense, that was a group of stalwarts that set the tone for the franchise, and now Heyward is the only vestige of that era. He learned from them, measured himself up to them, then watched as each left Pittsburgh, one or twoat a time.
“I think it’s leading by example first, making sure I just uphold the tradition,” Heyward said. “When I first got here, I was trying to be a spongeand be there to learn a lot.Now I have to do the same thingfor other guys.”
And, again, right on cue, Harris places his hand on Heyward’s shoulder with a high-pitched, “What up, unky?”
If Uncle Heyward has his way,he’ll help the next generation of Steelers understand how that legendary bunch of the 2000s and early 2010s managed to win two Super Bowls.As quickly as they can grasp it and make it happen, that’s as soon as they can be backin the conversation for a championship, something that also continues to elude Heyward, who arrived in 2011.
“Hard-nosed defense, opportunistic offense seizing the moment, and having good special teams,” Heyward explained. “But it’s a collective unit. That’s what the Pittsburgh Steelers have been about. That’s what it’s always going to be about, evenafter my time.”
Heyward might be a dinosaur in some ways, but he doesn’t go into this transitional period post-Roethlisberger on his own. Other than kicker Chris Boswell, the next most experienced Steeler is fellow All-Pro T.J. Watt, who joins Heyward thisweek in Las Vegas.
When it comes to leading by example, few — if any — do that better than Watt. Maniacal work ethic, willingness to assist teammates — be it other pass rushers or even offensive linemen — and a disdain for losing are all clubs in Watt’s bag of leadership. He knows that with one loud voice leaving, he needs to turn up his own volume.
“Youhave a guy that was a constant voice in the locker roomfor 18 years, whatever it was, there’s obviously going to be some sort of void there,” Watt said of Roethlisberger. “We need to fill it. Obviously, it’s going to be Cam, myself, and we’re going to find a guy on the offensive side of the ball who wants that role, as well. But I feel very confident with the guys we have right now.”
Heyward, Watt and — future offensive captain, perhaps? — Harris had a minimeeting on the bus ride to practice Thursday, but at some point later in the weekend, more defined goals for the team moving forward figure to be a topic of conversation. Watt, for his part, hasn’t done much review of the playoff loss to the Chiefs just yet, and he plans to wait until he can watch it with more of a“clear head.”
Neither the offense nor the defense looked particularly close to Super Bowl-caliber on that night in Kansas City, and now plenty of changes are on the way in Pittsburgh, but that’s not necessarily a badthing.
“We have a lot of good ball leftin this locker room — and myself, too, obviously,” Watt said. “We’re still young. A lot of good things to build on, but obviously a lot of things we needcorrected, as well.”