It’s getting pretty ugly between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Troy Polamalu. The two parties are at odds with different desires. The team obviously wants to move on from the aging safety, and they should without wanting the player to make a decision on his future.
On Wednesday, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Steelers wanted Polamalu to retire (via CBS Pittsburgh).
"“That is the elephant in the room,” Bouchette said. “I expect him not to be here by some means. The Steelers are hoping he would retire, but I don’t know if he is going to.”"
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Polamalu has his future up in the air. An ESPN report by Scott Brown one day later reveals that the safety is still trying to figure out if he wants to play for one more season according to his agent.
"“Troy is still determining whether he wants to retire or try and play in 2015,” his agent, Marvin Demoff, told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “We will make a decision fairly soon, but (it is) not imminent.”"
It’s actually been a productive last two seasons for Polamalu. He’s recorded 138 total tackles in 2013 and 2014 and had five forced fumbles and two interceptions in 2013. However, these numbers and his ultimate effect on the field have dwindled with injuries and age. He set such a high standard for his great career as a safety with one team.
Pittsburgh is ready to move on, but they don’t want to look bad by releasing him. Polamalu wants to play another season, but it would be a hard situation for playing with another team after being a Steeler since 2003 — appearing in 158 regular season and 15 postseason games.
It’s funny that the Steelers are hoping that Polamalu retires. What makes him any different than Franco Harris, Hines Ward, and Jason Gildon? All of those players are the team’s all-time leading rusher, receiver, and sack producer, respectively. They were also all released from the team.
Solomon Wilcots of the NFL Network explains that this is just what the Steelers do.
"“This is nothing personal,” NFL Network analyst and former Steelers defensive back Solomon Wilcots said. “This is just what the Pittsburgh Steelers have always been about. They rarely go up until the final year. They just don’t do that. The Pittsburgh Steelers have always been known to cut players sooner rather than too late.”"
There will always be fans upset when a great player leaves the steam. They’ll spout nonsense over teams needing to be loyal. But at the end of the day, the Steelers ultimately need to make the best decision for their franchise. It’s why they’ve been so successful in recent years.
It’s why the drama between the Steelers and Polamalu needs to end sooner rather than later. The inevitable is going to happen. Polamalu may be disappointed, and being in his shoes, it would be hard to play for another NFL team after spending 12 seasons at one place.
Polamalu needs to figure out if he wants to hang it up or try things out with another team. Based on recent action, he still has something left in the tank. As for the Steelers, history says the decision has been made, and they need to make the move before things get any more awkward.
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