Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he expects veteran S Troy Polamalu to finish out the fine year of his contract be back for the 2014 season.
“How we structure or restructure (Polamalu’s contract) is something we will look at in the next few months,” Rooney said Wednesday. “There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle, but I certainly expect Troy will be one of the pieces to that puzzle. … He’s obviously been one of the great Steelers at all time.”
Polamalu, 32, mentioned that he was hoping to honor his current deal with the Steelers, but their cap situation is an issue every.
As things stand right now, the Steelers are projected to be over the 2014 cap by close to $10 million, which means moves will need to be made. Polamalu is one of the more obvious candidates to either have his contract restructured or potentially be released. Polamalu will make $8.25 million and counts $10.9 million against the team’s salary cap. Releasing Polamalu could free up $8.25 million, according to Overthecap.com.
Given that Rooney wants to retain Polamalu, an extension could also be an option since it would lower his 2014 cap figure, but also push the cap issues further down the road.
Polamalu graded out as the No. 5 safety in the league, according to Pro Football Focus, so it would be hard to part with a solid player of his caliber.
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Ok time to get very truthful answers these questions, is Troy able to cover 1 on 1?? Is Troy a solid play maker or just a player who takes risks in order to make splash plays?? Is Troy a solid run stopper?? Is paying Troy worth not having 3-4 quality players?? Here’s the big question ,If the Steelers didn’t have Troy would they use that money wisely ?? My opinion would be that that he’s not a top ten safety anymore, but he is worth every bit of 5 mil. a year.