Pittsburgh Steelers fans started their Monday with a cause for concern after viewing Cam Heyward’s Instagram story.
The world found out that Heyward underwent some sort of offseason surgery as the star posted from his hospital bed.
Well, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Media, we now know why Heyward went under the knife:
Heyward Has Clean-Up on Groin
Steelers DL Cameron Heyward's surgery Tuesday was a clean-up procedure for a groin/core muscle issue, per @TomPelissero https://t.co/Gy6ygy9XVO pic.twitter.com/Ry5DTr5flJ
— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) February 21, 2024
Heyward suffered the injury during Week 1 of the 2023 season, undergoing groin surgery and missing over six weeks with rest and rehab before returning.
And while his return was notable for the Steelers’ run defense, he wasn’t allocating the typical amount of sacks and pressures Steelers fans were accustomed to seeing.
But as Heyward would go on to point out on his podcast after the season, he was playing on one leg for the majority of the season even after his rehab, and said that he aimed to get back to his dominant self in 2024.
Cleaning up his groin was step one to that process.