Steelers Free Agency: It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye

Nov 30, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) gestures at the line of scrimmage as the Saints offense faces the Pittsburgh Steelers defense during the second quarter at Heinz Field. The Saints won 35-32. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

March is upon us Steeler Nation. That means it’s just about free agency time. Veterans have been released left and right across the league and the time will come in Pittsburgh for the same. Steeler Nation could be faced with the reality of saying goodbye to some of the most beloved Steelers to ever put on the Black & Gold.

We can’t have it both ways anymore. We can’t want our defense to be younger and faster and still hold on to the older (and slower) veterans who we want on the team more for sentimental value and the hopes that they can still contribute more than the element of helping the team win.

There are four iconic Steelers players on the defense who may not be back due to free agency or may be released or asked to take a pay cut. Ike Taylor, Brett Keisel, Troy Polamalu and James Harrison have been staples of the Steelers defense for decades. Two of them are to become unrestricted free agents and the other two are likely facing release if they don’t take a pay cut or retire.

Some of them will be harder to say goodbye than others but all four of them in their own ways have been instrumental at one point or another at making the Steelers defense feared and revered across the league. The defense hasn’t been feared or revered in quite a while, however, and now that the Dick LeBeau era is officially over, it may be time for these players to move on as well.

Still, it’s hard to imagine some of these guys donning a different uniform than the Steelers Black & Gold, although we’ve already seen it once with Harrison, it’s still hard to imagine him ending his career anywhere else but Pittsburgh. Not every player will have the opportunity to ride off into the sunset with the Lombardi Trophy in one hand like Jerome Bettis did.

For the players looking to go elsewhere if the Steelers release or do not re-sign them, they should have long conversations with Harrison and Hines Ward before inking a contract for another team. There’s a reason why players have nothing but praise for the Steelers organization and the city of Pittsburgh and it might just be better to hang it up altogether rather than play inconsequential football with another team.

Could these players follow Dick LeBeau to Tennessee? Sure, that’s a very real possibility. Will they have a successful year and further cement their legacies as NFL greats? Probably not. It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday, but look at what tomorrow could bring.

Next: Ike Taylor