The Steelers are locked into an awkward dance with veteran safety Troy Polamalu, even if everyone knows how it will ultimately end.
They want him to retire, he’s not sure he wants to, but they get the final vote.
No one knows that better than former Steelers wideout Hines Ward, who went through the same thing following the 2011 season.
He recalled the meeting with coach Mike Tomlin and General Manager Kevin Colbert and the Rooneys, which they had to give him the news they didn’t want him back — at any price.
“I was a little disappointed at first,’’ Ward said, via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “There was nothing to say, they said I couldn’t play anymore — because I was out there 50 percent on a messed-up ankle because I ripped every ligament in my ankle.”
“I asked for a paycut, whatever the minimum was. I just wanted to stay on the team and be a leader to Antonio [Brown], Mike [Wallace] and Emmanuel [Sanders] and just be the fourth guy. But they didn’t have anything for me. It was disappointing.”
Rather than retire, he let them cut him. And then less than three weeks later, he retired. Whether Polamalu follows suit remains to be seen.
“For Troy, he’s 33, 34 [on April 19], he’s dealt with injuries and stuff, but who am I to tell a man to retire?” Ward said. “I just spoke with Troy last week. He was training and preparing to play football. I don’t know about the retirement aspect. It’s an unfortunate situation, but as you get older, you have to look at the business aspect of it. . . .
“With Troy’s past and his ability, he still can provide something for somebody out there. I would love to see it be with the Steelers. I’d be crushed to see ‘43’ in something other than black and gold. But if he decides to keep playing and they decide to go somewhere else, he’s always going to be a Steeler for life, in my opinion.”
Just like Ward is, even if it took a painful goodbye before that happened.
