Every year, when the first OTA session of the off-season is about to begin, fans always wonder if Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu will be in attendance or if he will choose instead to stay back in California and train on his own.
According to a source, Polamalu will again be in Pittsburgh next week for the first organized team activity that begins on Tuesday, just as he was last year at this time.
Last year when Polamalu showed up for the first OTA session of the 2012 offseason, he said that him being in attendance was “for obvious reason.”
“We had a lot of our major leadership leave, people that we count on,” Polamalu said, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I think it\’s nice for the younger guys to see a familiar face, and, honestly, to get myself better.”
Polamalu, who turned 32 years-old in April, missed nine games last season due to an injured calf after playing in all 16 games in 2011. With linebacker James Harrison and nose tackle Casey Hampton no longer around, Polamalu now becomes the fifth oldest defensive player on the roster behind Brett Keisel, Ryan Clark, Ike Taylor and Larry Foote.
The Steelers potentially drafted the heir apparent to Polamalu last month in the 2013 NFL Draft when they selected Syracuse safety Shamarko Thomas in the fourth round. That being said, Polamalu is still under contract through the 2014 season and has not hinted any at being close to wanting to retire.
