Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu was limited to seven games last season and even though he will turn 32 in April, at least one person expects him to continue to play at a high level for the foreseeable future. Pittsburgh, defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said he thinks Polamalu can continue to play at a high level for several more seasons.
Dick LeBeau confident in Troy Polamalu’s ability to return for Steelers
Troy Polamalu battled injuries last season, but Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said Polamalu has a lot of football left in him.
Rick Stewart
Behind The Steel Curtain's interview with Dick LeBeau
“He has a lot of tremendous football talent still in him,” LeBeau said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Once he got back on the field, I couldn’t see any difference in his play than when he was winning the Defensive Player of the Year award.”
Not many question Polamalu’s talent, even in his 10th NFL season. instead, the biggest question around Polamalu is his ability to stay healthy. Polamalu battled nagging leg injuries last season and has played in all 16 games twice in the last seven seasons.
LeBeau said he knows Polamalu will do everything possible to physically prepare to play a full 16 game season. Even though LeBeau said he thinks Polamalu can stay healthy and play for several more seasons, that doesn't mean he isn't advocating for the Steelers to add depth at safety. SB Nation's Steelers blog Behind the Steel Curtain interviewed LeBeau recently and he said it would be beneficial to acquire a young safety to learn from Polamalu and Ryan Clark.
“Both our safeties are tremendous and they’re over 30,” LeBeau said. “We’d like to get a younger guy in there to learn the position.”
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