Player: TE Connor Heyward
Stock Value: Sold
Reasoning: With Connor Heyward gone, the entire 2022 draft class for the Steelers—Kevin Colbert’s last—is gone, as well. Not one signed a second contract with the team, though several are still playing. Heyward might be the most surprising departure, and for multiple reasons.
Steelers fans must be besides themselves now that they have to reckon with the fact that a team that doesn’t employ Cam Heyward is, in fact, willing to employ his little brother, Connor Heyward. The fifth-year veteran signed a two-year contract with the Raiders reportedly worth $5.5 million. While he’s not raking in the dough, that’s solid money for him.
A sixth-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, Connor Heyward carved out a niche in Pittsburgh in his brother’s shadow. He has spoken about how that has been a blessing and a curse throughout his career. Now in Las Vegas, he has a chance to step out from under that weight.
And by this point, he has already proven himself. First and foremost, Connor Heyward is a special teams mainstay, and he will surely do that with the Raiders. Las Vegas, however, also appears to view him as a fullback, a more traditional role than he had here.
With the Steelers, Heyward was more of a utility man, lining up in all different spots. That might not have been to his ultimate advantage, though time will tell with that. If there is one position he could master in the NFL, it would probably be a more traditional fullback role.
Having also released Jonnu Smith, Connor Heyward’s departure leaves the Steelers with two established tight ends. While Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington constitute a strong one-two punch, they now need another. They can sign someone in free agency or draft a tight end, but it is a need nevertheless.
One wonders if the Steelers offered Heyward a contract to stay. His two biggest ties on the coaching staff, Mike Tomlin and Danny Smith, are gone. He didn’t follow Smith to Tampa, though. While he talked about it being a hard decision to leave the Steelers, a part of him, I’m sure, wanted a fresh start.
With the 2025 season behind us and the new league year underway, we still have stock to take. Already promisinga year of change, they are shaking things up. That is unavoidable, of course, when you gut the coaching staff. Mike Tomlin’s resignation will fundamentally change this football team, including the playoffs on the roster.
After a long season, we have finally seen that this Steelers team is playoff-bound. But they also showed that their progress was actually minimal,since they made it no further. Two years in a row, with two different quarterbacks, they went 10-7 and lost in the Wild Card Round. The only differences are they ended the season on a higher note and won the division. But it didn’t help.
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