The Pittsburgh Steelers hope Troy Polamalu will decide to retire this offseason.

"That is the elephant in the room," beat writer Ed Bouchette said. "I expect him not to be here by some means. The Steelers are hoping he would retire, but I don't know if he is going to."

"Either way, he won't be back," NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport tweeted Wednesday.

Polamalu openly pondered retirement after January's playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Polamalu is set to count $6 million against the cap.