Steelers Now
Three former Pittsburgh Steelers players earned a spot on Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder of ESPN’s All Quarter Century NFL Team — Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu, Hall of Fame guard Alan Faneca and eight-time Pro Bowl cornerback Patrick Peterson. Peterson only played one season for the Steelers in 2023, but Polamalu and Faneca were legendary players for the organization in the 2000s.
Faneca played guard for the Steelers from 1998-2007 after being selected by the team in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft out of LSU. He won Super Bowl XL with the team, was an eight-time All-Pro and nine-time Pro Bowler, and is a member of the NFL 2000s All-Decade Team, the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team, the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Honor, and the was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021.
“A stalwart at left guard for the Steelers before late-career spells with the Jets and Cardinals, Faneca missed only one game from 2000 on — and that was due to rest in a meaningless Week 17 contest in 2001. His six first-team All-Pro selections are more than any other left guard this quarter century,” Walder wrote.
Polamalu played 12 seasons for the Steelers from 2003-14 after being a first-round draft pick out of USC in 2003, winning two Super Bowls. He made eight Pro Bowls, was selected four times as a first-team All-Pro, received second-team All-Pro honors twice and was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2010.
Polamalu was selected as a member of the NFL’s 2000s all-decade team and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ all-time team. In addition to other accolades, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He finished his NFL career by playing in 158 games and recording 770 tackles, 12 sacks, 32 interceptions, 14 forced fumbles and scored three touchdowns.
“Polamalu flying all over the field epitomized what NFL teams began prioritizing with modern safeties. He is fifth among safeties with 103 passes defensed since 2000. He also had 80 run stops (tackles to stop runs short of a successful play), which is third among all defensive backs since 2000,” Schatz wrote.
This past April, Peterson announced his retirement from the NFL after 13 seasons. The 34-year-old spent his final season with the Steelers in 2023.
Peterson retired as a member of the Arizona Cardinals, who he spent the first 10 years of his NFL career with. He was the No. 5 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft out of LSU.
The eight-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro joined Pittsburgh on a two-year, $14 million deal in 2023. But his stint with the Steelers was capped to just one season. They released him in 2024 to save the team $6.9 million in salary cap savings.
“Peterson’s career had a long tail, but that shouldn’t overshadow his eight-year peak from 2011 to 2018,” Schatz wrote. “He was above average in yards allowed per target in each season during the early part...
