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Steelers Cameron Heyward Rips NFL’s Late-Season Scheduling: ‘It’s Not Easy’
The Steelers' late-season stretch hasn't gone as planned, but defensive tackle Cameron Heyward is worried about player safety.
PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers are nearing the end of their brutal stretch of three games in 11 days and it hasn’t gone as they likely hoped, dropping back-to-back games and a meeting with the two-time reigning Super Bowl champions on Wednesday.
Steelers defensive tackle and NFLPA representative Cameron Heyward was not shy in expressing his frustrations with the schedule on Monday.
“Yeah, I think that’s definitely a concern,” Heyward said when asked about player safety. “It’s a PA thing as well as an NFL thing. You don’t want to mess up the product, but we’ve been saying this since we got Thursday night games. It’s not easy.”
Players are searching for answers from the NFL, which is looking to add yet another game to the season in the near future.
It remains to be seen how the NFL plans to combat longer seasons and more volatile scheduling, but Heyward has an idea: An extra bye week.
“It would be better if we had a bye week before a Wednesday game,” Heyward said. “I played on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. You name it, we sign up for it. But what does it do to the players? And I wish we had better answers.”
The Steelers aren’t the only ones upset about having to play on Wednesday. Their Christmas day opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, have also voiced their opinions on the matter.
Chiefs safety Justin Reid said he wasn’t a fan of the schedule when it was released and that’s still the case.
“When it came out, I thought it was horrible,” Justin Reid said via Vahe Gregorian of The Kansas City Star. “And I still think it’s horrible. But it is what it is.”
Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones also weighed in a few weeks ago before beginning a similar schedule as the Steelers.
“One thing I’m doing this offseason is going to the NFLPA, especially with us having like three games in a 10-day span, that we’re mandatory to have a late bye week because with our schedule it’s kind of awkward, to say the least,” Jones said. “I think that’s a conversation to be had this offseason.”
That conversation will have to wait, however, as Wednesday has major playoff implications. The Chiefs can lock up the AFC’s No. 1 seed with a win while the Steelers are looking to continue to fend off the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North.
That’s why Heyward on solely focused on Kansas City.
“We just got done playing Saturday, but I can’t cry about it,” Heyward said. “It’s not something I’m really focused on right now. We’re not afforded that luxury of even trying to think about it. There’s bigger fish to fry and the Chiefs are coming here, and Christmas is that day, so looking forward to it.”
Alan Saunders provided reporting from Pittsburgh.
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