Troy Polamalu named Steelers captain for first time in 12-year career

For the first time in his NFL career, Troy Polamalu was named a team captain on Monday.

By John Breech

Sep 1, 2014 at 9:42 pm ET • 1 min read

Troy Polamalu is finally a team captain in Pittsburgh. (USATSI)

Steelers safety Troy Polamalu is an eight-time Pro Bowler with two Super Bowl rings, however, going into this season, there was one minor accolade missing from his career résumé: He had never been a Steelers team captain.

The 16th overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, Polamalu played 11 seasons in Pittsburgh without being named a defensive captain. That drought has finally ended though.

The Steelers announced on Monday that Polamalu would be one for four team captains this season, along with Ben Roethlisberger, Robert Golden and Shaun Suisham. Roethlisberger will serve as the team's offensive captain while Suisham and Golden will be special teams captains. Polamalu will serve as the lone defensive captain.

This will mark the sixth time the Roethlisberger has been named captain. Suisham and Golden are both first timers along with Polamalu.

So how did Polamalu go 11 years without being a team captain?

Here's a list of the defensive captains since Polamalu's rookie year in 2003.

2003: LB Jason Gildon, LB Joey Porter

2004: LB James Farrior, Porter

2005: Farrior, Porter

2006: Farrior, Porter

2007: Farrior

2008: Farrior

2009: LB James Harrison, Farrior

2010: Farrior

2011: Farrior