Over the span of Warren Sapp's career, from 1995 to 2007, only he and six other defensive linemen were four-time Pro Bowlers with multiple first-team All-Pro selections. Over the course of Cam Heyward's career, from 2011 to the present, only he and five other defensive linemen have been four-time Pro Bowlers with multiple first-team All-Pro selections. That's elite company in both cases, and you'd think that would be enough reason to generate respect among the top tier of players in the defensive trenches.
Apparently not.
Sapp, the Hall of Fame defensive tackle who racked up 96.5 career sacks and was a key component to the terrifying defense of the early 2000s Bucs, took to Twitter not to praise Heyward but seemingly to ask, well, who is this guy?
Is he serious? It's kind of hard to say, though nothing really indicates he was joking, so it's just kind of... weird? It's also worth noting that, if there's any time to know who Heyward is, 2021 is a pretty good season to do so. After all, he's quite literally the best interior defender in the entire league through 10 weeks, according to Pro Football Focus. Sapp has probably heard of Aaron Donald and wouldn't dare say otherwise, but the Rams star is second in total defensive grade (92.3) among interior defenders, with Pittsburgh's Heyward sitting atop the list (92.5).
Heyward responded, acknowledging that he'd seen Sapp's odd tweet but not stirring up any other drama.
Listen to Pittsburgh sports talk now on Audacy and shop the latest Steelers team gear
Some other fans tried to respond to Sapp, but he didn't exactly reveal whether or not he actually knew who Heyward was, or what his objective was in hitting send on that initial tweet. One fan responded, "Bro? Cameron Hayward" — we'll excuse the misspelling — to which Sapp replied, "How many Sacks he got bro?" Well, he has 4.5, but has done much, much more than that.
Another fan simply responded "Cameron heyward," to which Sapp said "He ain't that." I can confirm that Heyward is, indeed, that.
Is this some new rivalry starting, or is Sapp just messing around and embracing the Twitter troll culture, or is there something else at play? Who knows, and I doubt we'll find out, but it's interesting nonetheless.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram