15 Players the Pittsburgh Steelers gave up on way too soon

Santonio Holmes had a short leash after displaying Super Bowl heroics

It is still up for debate in Pittsburgh when it comes to who should have won MVP of Super Bowl 43. It seemed to be between either Roethlisberger or Santonio Holmes as the game wrapped up. Holmes would win the prestigious award and it is something that Roethlisberger was never able to add to his Hall of Fame resume.

Before the game at the Super Bowl, Holmes was starting to show progress in his improvement with each passing season. The Super Bowl performance that he showed, especially on the game winning drive made him into a sort of legend in Steelers lore. Both he and Roethlisberger will always be tied together with the game winning play in the back corner of the end zone.

2009 was a year where Holmes showed the Steelers and the rest of the NFL that he can play at a high level and be the number one guy. Unfortunately for him and the team, he got in trouble that following offseason and it put his future with the black and gold in jeopardy. The team would surprisingly trade him for some mid-round pick.

Pittsburgh was known as a strict organization at that time and with the suspension of four games looming that following year, Holmes was out the door. He never had as much success as he did in 2009, but he was a quality receiver for the New York Jets. It was another situation where the player would have benefited more if he was able to stay with the club.