With Troy Polamalu now retired, can Shamarko Thomas fill the massive void left at safety?
Being the player that has to follow a legend is never easy, and when you are an organization like the Pittsburgh Steelers, there have been many legends that eventually had to call it a career and needed replaced. Who could forget the struggles of Mark Malone trying to fill the shoes of Terry Bradshaw? How about Walter Abercrombie for Franco Harris? Or more recently, the likes of Cam Thomas for the vastly underrated Casey Hampton?
Another in the long line of Steeler legends who will need to be replaced this season is one of the most popular players to ever wear the black and gold, future Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu. Few Steelers made more of a noticeable impact during their time with the franchise, and in 12 seasons, Polamalu would re-define how the position was played.
Other teams would look for the “next Troy Polamalu” – a seemingly impossible task to complete.
Now the Steelers are in the unenviable position of replacing Polamalu and will look to third-year safety Shamarko Thomas to do exactly that. Though no one can expect Thomas to play at the level Polamalu did at the peak of his career, the Steelers desperately need Thomas to be ready to be a steady contributor as a full-time starter as strong safety opposite Mike Mitchell.
The question now becomes can Thomas be that player? After two seasons in an understudy role where Thomas was mainly a special teams contributor, the expectations will be raised as he is expected to start from day one this season.
Though it would be unfair to expect to copy Polamalu in style, there were perceived similarities when Thomas joined the Steelers. After being selected in the fourth round of the 2013 draft, the Syracuse product was known for being an undersized but athletic safety capable of being a disruptive force at the position.
As could be expected early on and similarly to Polamalu in his first year, Thomas struggled grasping the complicated defensive schemes under former defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau and this made it difficult to play “fast” in game action. Thomas would make two starts his rookie season as an injury replacement but would only see sporadic playing time through the majority of the season.
Injuries have also been an issue for Thomas. A recurring ankle issue would limit Thomas late in his rookie season and last year an array of nagging injuries, which included a Achilles issue and hamstring injury that would be a problem that last two months of the season. The ability for Thomas to avoid the injury bug will be essential in order to take a huge step in his development as a player and as a dependable starter in 2015.
The Steelers did decide to re-sign veteran safety Will Allen as a potential fall back plan, but it’s clear the team has every intention of giving Thomas the job as long as he proves he’s ready to get the job done in training camp.
Though the task of replacing a player the caliber of Polamalu is an unenviable one, the ability of Thomas to do it will be a key to the Steelers improving defensively this season.
