Cameron Heyward
Cameron Heyward was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States on May 6th, 1989 and is the Football Player. At the age of 34, Cameron Heyward biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 34 years old, Cameron Heyward has this physical status:
Cameron Phillips Heyward (born May 6, 1989) is an American football defensive end for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL).
In the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, he was drafted by the Steelers.
He played college football at Ohio State.
Personal life
Heyward was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, his late father, was a former NFL fullback. Cameron died from cancer, and the NFL was suspended for uniform offenses after he carried his father's name in an eye black message during the NFL's 2015 Breast Cancer Awareness campaign. Cameron said being a member of the NFL was a blessing, and he wanted to support his father and raise cancer awareness.
During Heyward's freshman year at Ohio State University, he began dating Allie Schwarzwalder and proposing to her on New Year's Eve 2012 in Savoy. They were married at the Pittsburgh Hotel on May 11, 2013, Pennsylvania, at the Westin Convention Center.
Heyward has three brothers. Connor, his younger brother, played as a tight end for Michigan State. The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Connor as a tight end in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft on April 30, 2022.
High school career
Heyward attended Peachtree Ridge High School in Suwanee, Georgia, where he competed for the Peachtree Ridge Lions high school football team. He was named of the Year's Top Defensive Player of the Year by Georgia in 2006. That year, the team qualified for the Georgia Class 5A State Championship. As a senior, he had over 100 tackles and 16 sacks. Scout.com named him as Georgia's best football player and the 13th best defensive tackle in the country. He benched 335 pounds and squatted 510 pounds, and was deemed a scholar student at Peachtree Ridge High School with a GPA of 3.2.
College career
Heyward was dubbed a freshman All-American by Sporting News, Rivals.com, and Scout.com after racking 30 tackles, 9 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, and 2 passes broken up. With Heyward as a freshman, the Ohio State Buckeyes advanced to the BCS National Championships, losing 38–24 to Louisiana State University.
He made 36 tackles and three sacks as a sophomore in 2008. In the 2009 Fiesta Bowl against Texas, the Buckeyes made it to another bowl game, losing 24-21.
In 2009, he had 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks, leading the Ohio State Buckeyes to the Rose Bowl, where the Buckeyes defeated Oregon 26-17. Heyward didn't register for the NFL Draft during his junior season, opting instead to return to the Buckeyes for his senior season.
Heyward's senior season was marked by 48 tackles and 3.5 sacks, as well as an interception against Miami for a career high 80 yards. He led the Buckeyes to their Allstate 2011 Sugar Bowl victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks 31–26.
Heyward finished his Ohio State career with 162 tackles, 31 tackles for loss, 15 sacks, and one intercept.
Professional career
Heyward was forecast to be selected in the first round by the majority of analysts and scouts coming from Ohio State. Before the NFL Combine, Sports Illustrated rated him as the 16th best prospect and the fifth best defensive end. Despite being enrolled in the NFL Combine, he was only able to do the vertical after recovering from elbow surgery in January. Because of the large number of defensive end prospects that had been rated high at the combine, he was expected to be selected in the first or second rounds. He was ranked eighth best defensive end and the 26th top prospect by NFLDraftScout.com at the conclusion of the combine. Mike Mayock, a NFL Network analyst, ranked him seventh best defensive end and 27th best prospect in the 2011 NFL Draft.
In the first round (31st overall) of the 2011 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Heyward. In 2011, he was the seventh defensive end selected.
The Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to a four-year, $6.70 million deal, which included $5.41 million as guaranteed and a signing bonus of $3.37 million.
For a starting defensive end position, he began training camp with veterans Brett Keisel, Aaron Smith, and Ziggy Hood. He was named as the backup defensive end on the regular season alongside Brett Kiesel. Heyward made his rookie season by wearing jersey number 95 during the pre-season, and his rookie season was his first appearance. After Jason Worilds decided to change to No. 1, the No. 97. 93.
As the Ravens defeated the Steelers 35-27, he made his debut in the Pittsburgh Steelers season-opener against the Baltimore Ravens and made one solo tackle. Heyward was fired by Tennessee Titans quarterback Matt Hasselbeck in his first appearance in a 38–17 victory on October 9, 2011, while also making two solo tackles. In a 27–0 victory over the St. Louis Rams in Week 16, he made a season-high three solo tackles.
He finished the season with 11 combined tackles, including a sack, a mandated fumble, a pass deflection, and he blocked a field goal in 16 games. The Pittsburgh Steelers finished second in the AFC North with a 12–4 record and a playoff spot.
In a 29–23 overtime loss to the Denver Broncos on January 8, 2012, Heyward appeared in his first postseason games and made four combined tackles.
He entered a training camp with Ziggy Hood for the vacant weakside defensive end position. Hood earned the position, making Heyward the backup for the season.
In the 31–19 loss, he was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Denver Broncos and had three combined tackles. When the Steelers defeated the New York Jets 27-10. Hemmoh, for his first sack of the season on Mark Sanchez, Heyward recorded a solo tackle and made his first sack of the season. During a 24-10 victory over the Cleveland Browns on December 30, 2012, he had a season-high four combined tackles and was credited with half a sack in Thad Lewis. He was used as a rotational defensive end throughout the season and had 20 combined tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Heyward debuted as the backup strongside defensive end behind Brett Keisel early in the regular season. In a 16–9 loss to the Tennessee Titans, he was in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener and made one solo tackle. He made his first career appearance in the place of weakside defensive end Ziggy Hood on September 22, 2013 and the Chicago Bears defeated the Chicago Bears by a single tackle. In a 19–6 victory, Heyward earned his second start in a Week 6 match against the New York Jets, who had two combined tackles. For the remainder of the season, he was still the starting weakside defensive end. As the New England Patriots defeated the Steelers 531-31 on November 3, 2013, Tom Brady made five combined tackles and earned his first sack of the season on him. During a 34-28 loss to the Miami Dolphins, he made a season-high ten combined tackles, a sack, and a pass deflection. He finished the season with 59 combined tackles, seven pass deflections, five tackles, two tackles for injury, and two tackles for loss, as well as a fumble revival in 16 games and 13 starts. He came in second on the team (first among defensive linemen) with five sacks and led the team with 31 quarterback pressures. In 2013, Pro Football Focus ranked him 19th among all qualified defensive ends.
The Pittsburgh Steelers tried a fifth-year option on his rookie deal, earning him $6.96 million in 2015.
He played with Brett Keisel, Stephon Tuitt, and Cam Thomas to be a starting defensive end throughout training camp. Dick Lebeau, the defensive coordinator, was named as the starting weak side defensive end, as opposed to Cam Thomas, who was not familiar with the game.
In a 30–27 victory, Brian Hoyer started the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Cleveland Browns, making four total tackles and sacked Brian Hoyer. As the Baltimore Ravens defeated the Steelers 26–6, he made his season-high seven combined tackles in the game. During Week 4's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Heyward was fined $22,050 by the NFL for using offensive words toward a person. During a 20-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on December 21, 2014, Heyward recorded four combined tackles and was credited 1.5 sacks on Alex Smith. He made a season-high six solo tackles, an assist tackle, and fired Andy Dalton in a 27–17 victory. He ended the season with 53 combined tackles (33 solo), a career-best 7.5 sacks, and four pass deflections in 16 games and 16 starts. During his first four seasons, Heyward played in 64 consecutive games. In 2014, he earned his sixth highest overall rating out of all qualified defensive ends from Pro Football Focus.
In 2014, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished first in the AFC North with an 11-5-0 record. Heyward failed by 30-17 to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wildcard game on January 3, 2015.
The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Heyward to a six-year, $59.25 million contract extension, which also included a $15 million guarantee and a signing bonus of $12 million.
Heyward and Stephon Tuitt were both de facto left defensive ends on the season. In a 28-21 loss, he opened the season-opener against the New England Patriots and recorded four combined tackles. As the Steelers defeated the San Francisco 49ers 43–18, he made five solo tackles and fired Colin Kaepernick. In a 38–35 victory over the Oakland Raiders on November 8, 2015, Heyward racked up a season-high eight combined tackles.
Heyward had 54 total tackles (39 solo), seven sacks, and two pass deflections in 16 games and 16 starts on the season. With a 10–6 record, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished second in the AFC North. During an 18-16 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on January 9, 2016, he made a solo tackle and fired A. J. McCarron. The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Denver Broncos 23-26 in the third game of the Indianapolis Broncos, the eventual Super Bowl 50 Champions. Heyward was ranked 88th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.
In a 38-16 victory, Heyward got off to a defensive start in the Pittsburgh Steelers' season-opener against the Washington Redskins, where they collected two combined tackles. As the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 43–14, Heyward recorded a season-high seven solo tackles, two pass deflections, and fired Alex Smith a career-high three times. He missed his first game of his career due to a hamstring injury in Week 6. His streak came to an end with 85 games in a row and 49 in a row. During the Steelers' loss to the Dallas Cowboys on November 13, 2016, Heyward sustained a torn pectoral muscle, recording two solo tackles. He revealed two days earlier that he would be put on injured reserve and would miss the remainder of the season. He had 22 combined tackles (17 solo), three sacks, and four pass deflections.
In Week 4, Heyward saw two sacks and a fumble revival in a 26–9 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, making him the NFL Defensive Player of the Week. In the Steelers' 31-28 victory over the Green Bay Packers on November 27, 2017, Heyward recorded a season-high six combined tackles and two sacks on quarterback Brett Hundley. His success earned him his second AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors of the season. He was selected to the First-Team All-Pro team following the season. During a Week 17 victory over the Cleveland Browns, head coach Mike Tomlin declared him to rest Heyward, as the Steelers had already secured a playoff berth and a first round bye. Heyward finished the season with 45 combined tackles (30 solo), a career-high 12 sacks, and three pass deflections in 15 games and 15 starts. Pro Football Focus gave him an overall rating of 88.9, ranked him 10th out of all qualified interior defensive linemen in 2017. He was also ranked 48th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
In a 41-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Heyward had 1.5 sacks and 1 tackle for loss in week 5 against the Atlanta Falcons. Heyward had 2 sacks against the Carolina Panthers in week 10 as the Steelers defeated the Carolina Panthers 521-21. Heyward finished the season with 51 tackles, 8 sacks, 3 passes defense, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. In 2018, Pro Football Focus gave him an overall rating of 84.9, the highest rating among all qualified interior defenders.
Heyward defeated Andy Dalton in week 4 against the Cincinnati Bengals, receiving 2.5 sacks and a coerced fumble on him. On January 3, 2020, he was named First-Team All-Pro for the second time in his career.
Heyward announced a four-year, $65.6 million contract extension with the Steelers on September 6, 2020. Heyward had his first interception since being thrown by Daniel Jones during the 26-16 victory in Week 1 against the New York Giants on Monday Night Football. During Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Heyward received his first complete dismissal of the season on Carson Wentz.