Aaron Rodgers is the Pittsburgh Steelers veteran getting most of the attention. However, Cam Heyward’s work shouldn’t be overlooked. Heyward was a second-team All-Pro last season at 36 years old. After turning 37 in early May, he’ll try to continue defying Father Time. He won’t be facing one of his longtime rivals in guard Joel Bitonio, who retired this offseason after playing 12 seasons for the Cleveland Browns.

He recently talked about the fond memories he has of playing against Heyward.

“I wouldn’t call it a beef, but I battled against Cam Heyward a bunch,” Bitonio said on Ryan Ripken’s YouTube channel. “I probably played him the most out of any player in the NFL. It was always a battle.

“I knew what he did good, he knew what I did well. There was just those battles. You see it on the schedule, it was one of those things you look at like, ‘Alright, we’ve got Pittsburgh twice a year.’”

Bitonio and Heyward were AFC North staples for years. While the Browns have usually been at the bottom of the division, Bitonio was long one of the league’s best guards. He was a first-team All-Pro twice, second-team All-Pro three times, and he also made seven Pro Bowls.

Heyward entered the NFL three years earlier than Bitonio, getting drafted in 2011. However, it took him a few years to become a starter. Most of his and Bitonio’s prime years lined up, and neither of them missed a lot of time. Therefore, they faced each other plenty of times.

While Bitonio’s Browns were often on the wrong side of this rivalry, he got to go out with a win over Heyward’s Steelers. Their last matchup was in Week 17 last year, and the Steelers lost, 13-6. Heyward wasn’t awful, recording six total tackles, but he was held without a sack.

In fact, Heyward didn’t have a sack in either of the Steelers’ 2025 games against the Browns. The last time that he brought Cleveland’s quarterback down was in Week 14 of 2024. That was a big day for Heyward, though, as he recorded two sacks.

Losing Bitonio is big for the Browns, but they didn’t do too bad of a job replacing him, signing Zion Johnson. Johnson was a Los Angeles Chargers first-round pick in 2022. While he doesn’t have any accolades to his name, he was a solid starter with the Chargers. He’s got youth on his side, but Heyward shouldn’t be underestimated. The veteran defensive lineman looked like he had plenty of gas left in the tank last year.