In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden shared two reasons why he thinks Cameron Heyward will eventually end his hold-in and will start practicing with the Pittsburgh Steelers in advance of their regular season opener on Sept. 7.
The first is what Madden perceives as an inability on Heyward’s part to handle the negative reaction that will come from Pittsburgh if he doesn’t suit up for games.
“He just doesn’t want to be viewed as a bad guy,” Madden said. “He doesn’t want to undo his legacy in Pittsburgh and in the locker room. I think that his teammates might see it a little differently if he started missing games.
“Cam wants to be liked. I think that will be his undoing in this whole situation.”
The second angle Madden discussed is the addition of 2025 draft choices along the defensive line in Derrick Harmon and Yahya Black.
“I think there’s a slight bit of pressure exerted by their presence, if only because I think the Steelers could get by without Cam in the earlier and weaker part of the schedule. In fact, that might actually do them some good,” Madden theorized. “Let’s say they went 4-1 in their first five games. Then Cam came back and played. He’d be that much fresher — presumably, that much better — down the stretch. Maybe that would be a happy accident that would benefit the Steelers.”
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Madden also took note of the fact that Chris Boswell handled the kickoff duties during Saturday night’s preseason game. Like Heyward, he has been present at Saint Vincent College during training camp, but he hasn’t been fully participating in practices.
“Chris Boswell ended his hold-in not with a bang, but with a whimper. No announcement. Nobody said anything. He just showed up and started kicking in the exhibition game,” Madden said. “When I heard he was out there for warm-ups, I was like, ‘Somebody buckled!’”
Madden said Boswell was smart to at least get on the field in some capacity against Tampa Bay.
“That was a wise decision on his part, because even the best kicker is incredibly disposable. He’s only a kicker, no matter how good he might be, no matter how many games he might have won for the Steelers. Because who’s to say another kicker wouldn’t have won most of those games,” Madden wondered. “Maybe this year with (Aaron) Rodgers, they just won’t lay up for field goals all the time, which makes the kicker a bit less valuable.”
Also during the podcast, Madden talks about the Steelers’ wide receiver issues, Kaleb Johnson’s performances and why the Pirates will never be the Milwaukee Brewers regardless of market size comparisons.
