Report: Steelers' Heyward to have groin surgery, expected to miss 8 weeks

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward is scheduled to have groin surgery Thursday and is expected to miss about eight weeks, reports Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Heyward suffered the injury in the first quarter of the Steelers' Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He tried playing through the ailment for a few snaps before Pittsburgh ruled him out at halftime.

The Steelers officially placed Heyward on injured reserved later Thursday.

"It's very tough, but man, we got more dogs too," Steelers linebacker Kwon Alexander said Monday, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN.

"Cam is very tough. He's a veteran, been in the league long time. He knows how to play the game well, but we've got guys that got to step up and get ready for the action."

Rookie defensive lineman Keeanu Benton is expected to see an increased role with Heyward sidelined. Other interior linemen on the Steelers include DeMarvin Leal, Armon Watts, and Larry Ogunjobi.

The Heyward injury adds to Pittsburgh's woes, as wide receiver Diontae Johnson will reportedly miss multiple weeks with a hamstring ailment.

Heyward has been with the Steelers since they selected him in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft. The 34-year-old has 614 tackles and 78.5 sacks in 184 career games.

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