Cameron Heyward finds himself in a position he's been a handful of times during his previous 13 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers: Hoping for a contract extension.

Only this time, Heyward is four years older than the last extension, which Pittsburgh signed him to in 2020.

Heyward's current contract holds the Steelers' second-largest salary cap hit (behind T.J. Watt) at $22.4 million (8.77 percent). That's a big chunk of change for a 35-year-old who spent half of the 2023 sidelined with a groin injury.

Those reasons likely give General Manager Omar Khan pause when determining whether to adjust his pay for 2024 or add more years to his contract.

"Heyward can become a free agent in March, and the Steelers haven’t shown an urgency to add any years to his deal," TribLive's Joe Rutter wrote leading up to the opening of training camp.

"Heyward wants to play in the NFL in 2025. He needs to be productive in 2024 first, and that is a question mark given the reasons already listed above."

The Steelers haven't shown an urgency to extend Heyward or any other 2025 free agent for that matter. Should he get one, it won't be for another month. Historically, the team waits until the first week of the regular season to finalize deals.

Until last season, the 2024 Walter Payton Man of the Year only got better with age. Heyward is only one season removed from back-to-back seasons of 10+ sacks.

Heyward said he wants to be a one-helmet guy. And who can blame him? He might have to prove he still has enough in the tank to warrant an extension before Pittsburgh signs him to one.

This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: No urgency from Steelers to allow Cameron Heyward to retire in Black and Gold