"Troy Polamalu is less concerned about when he will sign a contract extension with the Steelers and more concerned how his rehabilitated Achilles tendon will hold up once the regular season begins.

Polamalu, the NFL's defensive player of the year in 2010, was on the field at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe Sunday for the first practice in pads at training camp -- a good sign for the Steelers' five-time Pro Bowl safety.

But that does not mean Polamalu is fully recovered from a partially torn Achilles that appeared to limit his effectiveness in the postseason and the Super Bowl. Polamalu did not need surgery to repair the injury, but the rehabilitation process took longer than expected because the tendon had to heal on its own.

"It went well," Polamalu said. "It's always advantageous [when you don't have surgery]. But it's a disadvantage that it takes time for nature to take its course."

Asked when he started to feel he was close to being 100 percent recovered, Polamalu said, "I don't think it's there yet, but it's pretty close to being there."

Probably not what anyone was hoping to hear from Polamalu, who was robbed of his trademark explosiveness in the postseason because of the injury.

After a regular season in which he led the team with seven interceptions and sparked the run to the postseason with his big strip-sack in Baltimore, Polamalu was not his usual disruptive and omni-present self in the playoffs. It seemed especially apparent in the Super Bowl when the Green Bay Packers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers tore through the Steelers secondary with ease, passing for 304 yards and three touchdowns.

Polamalu injured his Achilles when he dove for the end zone after an interception return for a touchdown against the Cincinnati Bengals on Dec. 12. He missed two games, then returned for the season finale in Cleveland and had two more interceptions.

But he was never the same."