It’s quite possible that Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu played the final game of his career Saturday night at Heinz Field.
After the 30-17 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card Game, Polamalu, as expected, was asked if this season was going to be it for him.
“Time will tell,” Polamalu said. “We just lost a game. Honestly I’m not even prepared to think about that”
Polamalu did, however, say that it’s a reasonable question to ask.
Polamalu, who is currently under contract through the 2016 season, is scheduled to earn a $6 million base salary in 2015. His salary cap charge is scheduled to be $8.25 million.
Polamalu missed four games in 2014 season and in the 13 games that he did play in, he really didn’t look like the player he once was. He failed to record an interception and a sack in 2014 and only forced one fumble.
The Steelers have presumably be grooming safety Shamarko Thomas to take over from Polamalu and it might be time for the veteran to pass the torch to the player that he’s mentored for two full seasons now.
Polamalu will likely take some time to clear his head before deciding whether or not he will retire so we might have to wait a little while until he makes a decision on his future.
Since being drafted by the Steelers in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft, Polamalu has recorded 12 sacks, 32 interceptions and forced 14 fumbles in 158 regular season games. He also scored three regular season touchdowns.
Troy Polamalu asked if this is it for him. Says: “Time will tell… We just lost a game. Honestly I’m not even prepared to think about that”
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) January 4, 2015
Polamalu says it is a reasonable question to wonder if he has played his last game.
— Scott Brown (@ScottBrown_ESPN) January 4, 2015
