Can the Steelers weather the storm without Cameron Heyward?

Well, the loss to the San Franciso 49ers just went from bad to worse with the news that our All-Pro defensive lineman and one of the defensive captains, Cam Heyward, will miss some time due to a groin injury. If we missed Mike Tomlin's press conference as he discussed Heyward's injury, you can watch it here.

What I found to be interesting is that Heyward has not missed a game due to injury since 2016. If you think about that, it is a pretty amazing feat for a lineman, whether it be on the offensive or defensive side of the ball, to not miss a game due to some type of injury.

I would argue that linemen are probably the most prone to injury since they spend the whole game 'in the trenches'. In any event, the reality of our situation as we sit here today, to coin a Tomlin phrase, is that we will be without one of our stalwarts for a yet-to-be-determined length of time.

The Steelers will be hard-pressed to 'hold the fort down' on the defensive line without Heyward

So, to answer the question posed in the title of this discussion, I think we need to take an objective look at who are options are to replace Heyward and what their acumen is in terms of the skill set they possess.

To be clear and as Tomlin stated during Tuesday's press conference, replacing Heyward will be a group effort as one player can simply not replace the level of productivity and the veteran savvy that Heyward 'brings to the table'.

Since being selected in the first round of the 2011 draft, Heyward has earned six trips to the Pro Bowl and has been named All-Pro three times. If you look at the Steelers roster, no other player even comes close to matching the level of productivity and the level of consistency with which Heyward has played.

What other player currently on the roster has made six consecutive Pro Bowls? What other player currently on the roster has accumulated seventy-eight and a half sacks over his career? The answer is no other player.

So how will we weather the storm sans Heyward? I am hopeful that we will be able to 'tread water' until Heyward returns, but 'treading water' implies that we will be, at best, a five-hundred team when Heyward is ready to play.

I think the best-case scenario is that the other D-lineman 'step up' to make Heyward proud by playing well and not being the reason we lose a game. The worst-case scenario is that we aren't able to stop the run and we lose because the D-line resembles a sive.

Since there may not be in-house options to replace Heyward, I think we will eventually need to look at possibly trading for an established player who can provide the level of productivity we are accustomed to seeing from Heyward.

So, let's answer the 'elephant in the room' question. Unless we are committed to playing defense in a manner that accentuates to strengths of the players we currently have, I don't see us weathering the storm well enough to be in a position to discuss the post-season if Heyward misses an extended period of time.

I hope I'm wrong. I really hope I'm wrong.

All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.