When the Pittsburgh Steelers signed free agent safety Mike Mitchell to a big money contract last offseason, they were looking to replace Ryan Clark, who was the team’s primary starting free safety from 2008 to the 2013 season alongside Troy Polamalu. The two combined to form arguably their finest safety tandem in club history.
It’s easy to forget in hindsight, however, that it wasn’t until a few years into his tenure with the Steelers that Clark actually became the Pro Bowl player that he was for a couple seasons. Drawing comparisons between Clark in his prime and Mitchell in his first season with the team may have distorted reality, or at least expectations, a bit.