It's not as cut-and-dry as it seems when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers and what they may have planned for the safety position this year.
When the Steelers drafted Shamarko Thomas in 2013, it seemed like he was destined to be the successor to veteran Troy Polamalu once Polamalu decided his football career was over. But Polamalu made that decision this offseason, and it's still not guaranteed that Thomas will be the one to replace him.
"Replace," too, is a difficult word, because there is no safety on the Steelers' current roster—or, arguably, in the NFL—who can do what Polamalu did in his prime.