PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith has experimented with his attack each week this season, incorporating different talents to carry out tasks that best fit them. Aaron Rodgers may line up in his most consistent formation after the clock empties.
Cam Heyward , an 11-time team captain who embodies the spirit of the black and gold, has made it a tradition to walk off the field with Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin after games. Rodgers, a 21-year veteran who took the team's elder statesman title from Heyward, has joined them on the stroll to the tunnel.
"Bringing Rodgers into the fold, after we got that first win in New York, me and Mike T had talked about it," Heyward said Thursday before practice at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "He was like, 'Let's bring this old man along with us.' We wanted to give him an experience of what it's like to be a Pittsburgh Steeler, and welcome him into that. And show him that, 'We're with you along this ride, this journey. You don't have to walk alone.'
"I think that's our leadership. We have a bunch of leaders, but it's not one guy doing it by himself. It's a group of guys. It's a team that really gets the job done."
Tomlin said earlier this week that he and Heyward started the tradition in hostile environments.
"It's funny, Cam and I have been doing it for years. We just have," Tomlin said on "The Rich Eisen Show." "We had a road victory. He and I generally have responsibilities and so forth. And we made eye contact a number of years ago — it might be 8-10 years ago now that we've been walking off the field together like that.
"Nobody cared or paid attention until Aaron got involved. And so we invited him into our little group. … We figured we'd better do the same with 8 because I imagine he faces a little hostility, as well."
Heyward was impressed by Rodgers' willingness to assimilate himself into the Steelers' culture from the time he arrived. The bond the signal-caller has formed with those in the locker room has strengthened the team overall.
Pittsburgh Steelers QB Aaron Rodgers, right, reacts to his team's win over the Detroit Lions with head coach Mike Tomlin. Ed Thompson/Steelers Now
"The first day he came in, he talked about (how) he wants to serve the group," Heyward said. "And I think that spoke a lot to his mindset approaching us. And it's one thing to say it with words. It's another thing to take part in everything we do, to get to know players — offensively, defensively, special teams. Even the little (things). (Nick) Herbig and him go back and forth from time to time, but there's a competition that breeds just togetherness amongst everybody in our group.
"I think, offensively and defensively, this is probably the closest that we've been in a really long time."
Now, as the Steelers prepare for their Wild Card clash with the Houston Texans , Heyward is hoping to take the first step toward capturing something Rodgers and Tomlin already have — a Lombardi Trophy.
Heyward was asked if his Steelers career would be complete without one. He pursed his lips for a moment, the wheels turning in his head.
"Ask me at a different time," Heyward said. "In the midst of it all, chasing something they have. We'll see once the career ends."
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : How Steelers Leaders Embraced Aaron Rodgers: 'You Don't Have to Walk Alone'
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