Cam Heyward Clarifies His Stance On Recruiting Aaron Rodgers

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cam Heyward thinks people have misinterpreted his comments about Aaron Rodgers.

Last Tuesday, Heyward was discussing the Steelers’ search for a quarterback, and of course the topic of Rodgers came up (since he is still a free agent). It's a well-known fact that Rodgers can be a difficult man to please and that he enjoys drama.

However, Heyward said he was not going to take part in any of that on the "Not Just Football" podcast.

"I ain’t doing that darkness retreat. I don’t need any of that crap," he said. "Either you want to be a Pittsburgh Steeler or you don’t. That’s simple. That’s the pitch. If you want me to recruit, that’s the recruiting pitch: Pittsburgh Steelers. If you want to be part of it, so be it. If you don’t, no skin off my back," Heyward said.

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This week, however, he is changing his tune on the situation - ever so slightly. In an appearance on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Monday, he said that his words were not meant to discourage Rodgers from coming. Rather, he said that he pitch to join the black and gold was as simple as "come if you want."

"It’s funny. Everybody gave me crap, they said I called him out. I don’t think I really called him out. I just said I was not going to go on a darkness retreat to recruit him, that if he wants to be a Steeler, he can be a Steeler. That’s the pitch," Heyward said.

"I don’t know why everybody thought, ‘Oh, Cam’s really going at him.’ Some fans felt like, ‘Oh yeah, keep doing that,’ and the other fans felt like, ‘Oh, man, you’re really gonna scare him off.’ I’m not scaring anybody off. I just want to win games and play good football," Heyward said.

Frankly, it makes sense. The guy is 35 years old and itching to get a Super Bowl before he retires. It’s not his job to sign players, and he is more focused on doing his part to win. Plus, trying to recruit Rodgers is a full-time job with a lot of headaches.

Heyward doesn’t want any of that noise. And at this stage of his career, I can’t blame him.