Cam Heyward: Steelers are ‘pissy’ about talk of Pittsburgh’s tradition

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a tough team to watch the past few weeks. They’ve been playing below their talent level all season, but the wheels really started to come off with the dreadful Chicago Bears game.

The media, including several former players, have taken the Steelers through the wringer this season. In ESPN’s Ryan Clark’s well-publicized rant, he spoke about how current players don’t fully understand what it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or properly uphold Steelers tradition.

“The tradition is winning. We’re all pissy and annoyed about it,” said defensive end Cam Heyward told Steelers media on Thursday. “At the end of the day, the tradition to be upheld is to win the game and play with a lot of effort. Everything else is beside the point.”

With players seemingly going their own way, one reporter asked if tradition can even be upheld during times like these.

“Winning is never going to get evolved,” Heyward said. “That’s the bottom line. At the end of the day, we’re here to win a football game…”

“I know there has been a big deal about freaking music, but I’m done talking about it because at the end of the day, I’m here to play with my teammates, these coaches, everybody in the best position, and it’s my job to lead everybody.”

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Heyward has been the undisputed leader of the Pittsburgh Steelers for many years and captain of the defense since 2014. If any single player has the pulse of a locker room, it’s Heyward.

The Steelers need to take a page from the book of Darryl Drake and shut out the noise. Getting back to winning — what Heyward said is the Steelers tradition — is a good place to start.

We’ll see how the Steelers respond as they play host to AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at 4:25 p.m. EST.

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