Cam Heyward, a great defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers, announced on his Instagram account that he
had surgery. We now know the purpose of the surgery according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, who revealed that
it was a necessary clean-up operation related to his prior groin and core muscle surgery.
Even after he returned, the groin ailment continued to bother him throughout the season. Heyward has spoken
extensively about his injury sustained while with the 49ers. He began by saying that they had attempted to rest his
micro tears, which dated back to training camp. However, he tore the muscle off the bone during his game versus the
49ers, necessitating surgery. He hurt his other groin at some time while attempting to make up for it. After his
operation, Heyward was supposed to miss 12 weeks, but he recovered much more quickly. Heyward claimed that in
addition to the new groin injury and the surgery he underwent during the season, he also suffered from a knee
problem that prevented him from training to the fullest extent for nearly the whole season following his comeback.
I overcompensated with my other groin after having my groin,” he remarked. “There were things, like my knee, on
top of that. Even preparing for each game was a struggle. My lack of desire to practice wasn’t a conscious decision.
“Get me to the game” was the message. That is not something I like to do. That’s not how I prefer to play football. I
want to never try to trick the game. I would never want to consider myself to be less than 100%. But this year, that’s
the hand I was dealt. It was quite a bit.
Last week in Las Vegas, Heyward was named the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year. He became one of only four
Steelers players to win the coveted award, following Franco Harris (1976), Joe Greene (1979), Lynn Swann (1981),
and Jerome Bettis (2001). Every year, a player who excels both on the field and in their community involvement is
awarded this accolade.
