Heyward on Watt's contract situation: 'Want both sides to win'
Cam Heyward addressed T.J. Watt's absence from mandatory minicamp amidst his ongoing contract negotiations following today's session at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, calling the situation "unfortunate."
Heyward recently took part in contract negotiations of his own before signing a new three-year contract last September. Prior to agreeing to the extension, Heyward chose not to attend both the team's voluntary offseason workouts and the first two weeks of OTAs. He was in attendance during the third week of OTAs and throughout minicamp.
"You want to keep football football, but you have to understand the business of the game," Heyward said. "They have a job to do. It's kind of funny how everybody shines the light on everything besides the football player. You just want it done. You want to be respected and you want it to be locked in so no one questions who you are and what you put toward it, but it's just the name of the game these days."
Despite the ongoing negotiations and Watt's decision to miss minicamp, Heyward said it seems like it's more of a distraction for those outside of the locker room than anyone inside it.
"If you check these practices out, guys are fully locked in and trying to get better," Heyward said. "Of course, we would love to have T.J. out there, but it doesn't change the mission of everybody just trying to get better.
"I just want both sides to win, our team to be complete and for us to have a defensive player of the year candidate every year out there to give us a chance to win."
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9:00 pm - 06.11.2025South SideHeyward on Watt's contract situation: 'Want both sides to win'
Cam Heyward addressed T.J. Watt's absence from mandatory minicamp amidst his ongoing contract negotiations following today's session at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, calling the situation "unfortunate."
Heyward recently took part in contract negotiations of his own before signing a new three-year contract last September. Prior to agreeing to the extension, Heyward chose not to attend both the team's voluntary offseason workouts and the first two weeks of OTAs. He was in attendance during the third week of OTAs and throughout minicamp.
"You want to keep football football, but you have to understand the business of the game," Heyward said. "They have a job to do. It's kind of funny how everybody shines the light on everything besides the football player. You just want it done. You want to be respected and you want it to be locked in so no one questions who you are and what you put toward it, but it's just the name of the game these days."
Despite the ongoing negotiations and Watt's decision to miss minicamp, Heyward said it seems like it's more of a distraction for those outside of the locker room than anyone inside it.
"If you check these practices out, guys are fully locked in and trying to get better," Heyward said. "Of course, we would love to have T.J. out there, but it doesn't change the mission of everybody just trying to get better.
"I just want both sides to win, our team to be complete and for us to have a defensive player of the year candidate every year out there to give us a chance to win."
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Want an ad-free experience?
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