Not even one week after becoming a Pittsburgh Steeler and new cornerback Jalen Ramsey is getting to pick the brain of one of the franchise’s best defensive backs. Thanks to Ryan Clark, he set up a FaceTime call between Troy Polamalu and Ramsey. Late Saturday, he shared a screenshot of the call.
“Connecting the Greats!! One @steelers legend and the next!” Clark wrote in the tweet, tagging both and using the hashtag “Family.”
Ramsey was part of the Steelers’ mega-move Monday, sending FS Minkah Fitzpatrick back to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for TE Jonnu Smith and Ramsey.
Obviously, it’s not clear what Polamalu and Ramsey discussed. It may have been more of an introductory and welcome call than anything else. Still, any chance a talented player like Ramsey can speak with a Hall of Famer like Polamalu is a good thing.
Ramsey replied to Clark’s post on Instagram, thanking him for setting up the call and writing “can’t wait to be apart of something special!”
Kudos to Clark for facilitating the meeting. Polamalu and Clark, one of the NFL’s best safety duos of their era, understand the importance of Steeler’s lore and legends of yesteryear. Clark with this meeting and Polamalu acknowledging it during his Hall of Fame speech.
“The only approval any Steeler should seek is to earn the approval from previous legends who have donned the black and gold,” Polamalu said. “If you’ve really earned their respect they’ll say, You could have played with us.”
Since retiring, Polamalu has largely stayed out of the spotlight. However, he and his wife Theodora organized a charity event in Pittsburgh in 2024. Dubbed the Resilience Bowl, it brought out several former teammates, including QB Ben Roethlisberger, and raised money for the local community.
Ramsey will play a key role for Pittsburgh’s secondary. Added to help combat the Cincinnati Bengals and AFC’s strong passing attack, he’ll be used a little bit like Polamalu. A playmaking chess piece able to move around the formation to keep offense’s guessing.
Clark co-hosts the popular The Pivot podcast. Perhaps he’ll offer details of the conversation Polamalu and Ramsey had.
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