Former Steelers Teammates Question Whether The Great Cam Heyward Still Has It; Must Prove He Hasn't "Fell Off A Cliff"

The start of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2023 season is rapidly approaching. We are now just a few weeks away from the start of training camp. With more players attending then will be on the final 53-man roster, this time of year always generates speculation regarding performance.

Recently, two former Steelers linebackers, Arthur Moats and Terence Garvin, chatted on Moats' podcast, The Arthur Moats Experience, about who they think has the most to prove. Will it be one of the many new faces on the team, or a returning vet that has a chip on his shoulder? 

Which Steelers Defender Has The Most To Prove In 2023?

Garvin says without hesitation that he feels the "player" with the most to prove is the whole inside linebacker room. The Steelers have struggled for years to find anyone solid. It appears that this year, it will be on the shoulders of free agents Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb.  

The inside linebackers are really the easy answer. Garvin wasn't done there, he had a more surprising player who needs to prove himself, Cam Heyward. Heyward, a defensive tackle, seems an unusual choice. He is a frequent team captain, the Steelers Walter Payton Man Of The Year nominee, a six-time Pro Bowler, and a three-time All-Pro. 

"Cam Heyward, with where he's at in his career, he's still fighting for things - his gold jacket, I know he wants to win a Super Bowl.  Every year he proves he's fighting, but as you get older it changes," says Garvin.'

Moats is surprised at first when Garvin names Heyward, but he agrees that as you get to be a more veteran player, things change. He said the kind of "proving it" you have to do changes. 

"He has got to prove that number one, he hasn't fell off, he's still a double-digit sack guy. Number two, that he's not falling off the cliff, not becoming too old for the position. Then after that, just from a health standpoint, can you stay healthy out there?"

The NFL is a business and Moats and Garvin are both aware that as you age, the league starts to look at you differently. You want to play well and perform well so you get paid well, but that can also lead to difficult choices.  

"You look at him and he's been doing this for so long, a decade, and the organization looks at that too and they start to think it's time to reset that position, started bringing in some younger guys." 

Moats agrees with Garvin and says that because of the contract sizes for effective veteran players in the league, it gets harder and harder the longer you stay. According to Moats, it is a balancing act - they want to keep you because you perform well, but they also want to replace you with someone younger and less expensive. As for his choice of who's entering a "prove it" time, he said it wasn't as clear cut for him. 

"I was stuck between two dudes, one just got paid and one's about to get paid. Larry Ogunjobi is the first one, because of him just getting the bag. We're looking at him and we're asking, 'Are you going to be the next guy?' We're trying to see if Larry can do those types of things that we are accustomed to seeing from Cam. Cam becomes expendable and Larry is cheaper."

Larry Ogunjobi came to the Steelers after failing a physical in Chicago. The Steelers took a chance on him with a one-year contract initially and it paid off for them. Now it is paying off for Ogunjobi, who just signed a large three-year deal to stay in Pittsburgh.

"He has a lot to prove though because we know what Cam has been. We've seen other talented guys come in here and try to do that and nobody has successfully been able to unseat Cam as 'the guy.' [Stephon] Tuitt flirted with it at times, but even Tuitt wasn't consistent enough. For Larry, this is going to be a great opportunity for him."

Moats thinks that expectations will be increased because Ogunjobi is returning to the team with a large contract. He doesn't have the injury to use as an excuse and he will need to get off to a hot start. 

"The next guy is Alex Highsmith. If they pay him before the season, which we anticipate them doing, he's gonna have to prove that the 14.5 sacks wasn't a fluke. That whatever the price tag is, that he's actually worth that and can live up to it and produce another double-digit sack season, or at least a very impactful and disruptive season."

Playing alongside someone like T.J. Watt is a double-edged sword for Alex Highsmith. From a team aspect, the two are an absolute terror. And while Highsmith more than holds his own, Watt is superhuman and the comparisons never end. Additionally, it is really an unfair comparison as they play the position differently.  

"He's also trying to prove in his own right that he can be a Batman somewhere. That he can be the main pass rusher. As an edge rusher when you start getting into them double digits and let alone 14.5, when you start talking you was top five in the league in sacks last year, you start feeling like you want to be 'the guy.' Now you want to go out there and prove that because they pay the number one guy even more."

Moats says that people have been doubting Highsmith since the beginning, as a third-round draft pick no one expected him to get 10 sacks, let alone 14.5. He said that Highsmith has shown that he will not settle for the number two spot.

Who is your number one "prove it" player on defense this year? Do you agree with Garvin or Moats? Click to comment below!

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