Things getting very awkward between Troy Polamalu and Steelers

It's becoming clear that things might not end well between Troy Polamalu and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers want Polamalu to retire so it saves them the indignity of having to cut one of their most popular players of the past quarter century. They took a hit when it happened with Hines Ward, and the Polamalu public-relations hit would be bigger.

A former teammate of Polamalu's told Shutdown Corner early Tuesday that he spoke with the soon-to-be-34-year-old safety recently, who indicated that he prefers to play another year in the NFL.

It just doesn't feel like that's going to happen in Pittsburgh. Ed Bouchette of the Post Gazette does a  good job of explaining the awkward situation here.

The Steelers had a use for Ike Taylor, and he still wanted to play with the team, so he swallowed hard and accepted a $4.25 million reduction last summer and wasn't happy about it. But it doesn't sound like the Steelers would be open to that kind of arrangement with Polamalu, who played seven games last season but wasn't terrible down the stretch.

Could Polamalu follow Dick LeBeau to the Tennessee Titans? It's possible, but we have a feeling no matter what happens it won't be the most amicable divorce from the only NFL team Polamalu has known.

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm