"Within a span of three weeks, the Steelers handed out more than $138 million in contracts to their second-ranked defense, and the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year didn't get one cent.

Troy Polamalu will become an unrestricted free agent following the season if the Steelers don't get a deal done with the three-time All-Pro safety within the next two weeks.

And with the Steelers so close to the salary cap this year, Polamalu likely will have to wait until after the season to get a long-term deal.

Either way, Polamalu isn't talking specifics.

"I'd love to be here; I'd love to retire a Steeler," Polamalu said. "All comments regarding the contract stay between the Steelers and my agent. Sorry."

The Steelers want to keep Polamalu but might have to put the franchise tag on him in March. The franchise tag for safeties next year is projected to be about $9 million. Polamalu is in the final year of a deal that paid him $6.6 million a season.

"To be honest, it is part of the (collective bargaining agreement) that all of us agreed on," Polamalu said of the franchise tag. "It's part of the system."

Polamalu first needs to show he can stay healthy. He missed 11 games in 2009 with a knee injury and missed two more last year, when he suffered an Achilles injury that troubled him the second half of the season.

The 30-year-old has missed 21 games over the past five years after not missing any his first three years.

"We are not worried about Troy," receiver Hines Ward said. "I guess everybody expects him to make a play every game. He is making plays when he is not making plays.""