In 2003 the Steelers traded up in the first round for the 16th pick. They used that pick to select Troy Polamalu; a safety out of Southern California. Many thought it was questionable move because of him not being able to perform at the Senior Bowl, or the NFL Combine. He impressed enough scouts at his Pro Day I guess since he was worthy of the Steelers trading up to get him. Polamalu was the only safety that the Steelers have drafted in the first round. The move worked out quite well for the Steelers, since Troy turned out to be the best player in the draft.
By Polamalu’s second season he was the full-time starter for the Steelers at safety and made it to his first Pro-Bowl. Polamalu went on to make four more consecutive Pro-Bowls. Prior to the 2007 season Troy singed the biggest contract extension in team history at the time; which was worth just over 30 million dollars. That season he was plagued by injury and only played 11 games and had 0 interception. Somehow he was still voted to the Pro-Bowl.
In the first game of the 2009 season Polamalu made a one-handed interception that was something you’d only see him do, and finished the game with 6 tackles and 1 interception. Later in the game he sprained his MCL when trying to recover a blocked punt. Because of that injury he missed four games, and then he came back only to re-injure that knee a few games there after.
The 2010 season was the best season of Polamalu’s career, and that is when he made is mark as one of the best to ever play the game. With Ben Roethlisberger being suspended early in the season, Troy made a play by intercepting Matt Ryan in the Atlanta season opener that changed the game. Another game changing play was made in week 13 when he sacked Joe Flacco of the Ravens and forced a fumble that lead to a Steelers’ victory. He finished the season with 7 interception and had a huge impact on every game he played. After the season he was voted at the AP Defensive Player of the Year.
Even with all this recognition and accolades; it’s hard to remember the last time that Polamalu played and entire season without sustaining some sort of injury. There is nothing wrong with missing a game here and there, but he has had a different injury every season. In the 2006 season he missed 3 games with a knee injury, in 2007 he missed four games because of another knee injury, in 2009 he missed 10 games because of the MCL sprain, in 2010 an ankle injury sidelined him for 2 games, and now this year he has missed 8 of the 10 games because of a calf injury.
All these injuries, and the fact that Troy isn’t getting any younger make you wonder if it is time for the Steelers to look for his replacement. Although the defense is playing superb without him, it’s hard to see the long-term replacement being Will Allen, or Ryan Mundy. We all know that the Steelers don’t usually make big splashes in the free-agency market, so that means his replacement will most likely be coming out of the draft in the next few years. Some of the top safeties that could be coming in the league next year are; Kenny Vaccaro out of Texas, Tony Jefferson an underclassmen from Oklahoma, and Eric Reid from LSU. They might not need to find that guy to replace him immediately but don’t you think they should start looking into at least?
