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Daily Links: Steelers Surprise Cam Heyward with Special Moment; Pickett Breakout?

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Steelers DL Cam Hayward
Washington Football Team at Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 3rd, 2021 (All-Pro Reels Photography)

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a special surprise for Cam Heyward to honor his fifth selection as the team’s candidate for the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, and Pro Football Focus is predicting a breakout year for Kenny Pickett in 2023.

🏈 Steelers: The most recent donations to the Steelers Social Justice Fund are going to Center for Life, the Education Law Center and the Neighborhood Resilience Project. The grant totals $16,000 with contributions from linebacker Myles Jack and defensive linemen Montravius Adams and DeMarvin Leal, as well as the matching donation from the team.

Watch Cam Heyward’s reaction as his family, friends, and Steelers teammates surprise him on being a five-time Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year nominee.

Mike Tomlin wished Blaine Stewart the best of luck on his new position at West Virginia. “Keep up the great work and moving forward, @blainestewart3,” Tomlin said on Instagram.

🏈 Audacy: Former Steelers executive and Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley thinks the gap between Pittsburgh and the NFL’s elite teams is pretty wide right now. “Joe Burrow had three of his offensive linemen out, three of his starting offensive linemen. If you took three of the starting offensive linemen off the Pittsburgh Steelers, would they be able to go into Buffalo, in that hostile environment, with everything surrounding that Buffalo team, and be able to blanket them like the Cincinnati Bengals? That’s all you have to say right there,” Whaley said on 93.7 The Fan. “That’s how far that gap at quarterback is going to be as well. I’m not saying that Kenny can’t strive and get better and get to that level, I’m just saying, you take a snapshot of that picture right now, that’s where you are. So I think there’s a lot of work to be done.”

🏈 Pro Football Focus: Kenny Pickett will have a breakout year in 2023. “Pickett’s numbers don’t look good this year, but his performance was consistently better than the statistical rewards it was reaping. He finished the year with a PFF grade of 75.5 — a comparable number to that of Daniel Jones in New York — but Pickett threw just seven passing touchdowns to nine interceptions. Pittsburgh retaining its offensive coaching staff doesn’t make this any easier, but a step forward from Pickett should make those numbers take a big jump.”

🏈 WROC: This is the 20th consecutive year that the AFC Championship Game includes Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger or Patrick Mahomes.

🏈 Watch: Kenny Pickett stopped by UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh on Wednesday to visit with patients. Pickett also attended the Pitt-Wake Forest men’s basketball game with teammates Mason Cole and Anthony Miller on Wednesday night.

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Steelers Draft Digest: Jordan Addison Top WR, Kiper Mocks Porter to Pittsburgh

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AROUND THE NETWORK

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