William Gay merely the latest former Steeler to return to their Pittsburgh home

With the announcement yesterday of cornerback William Gay officially returning to the Pittsburgh Steelers—with whom he spent the first five years of his career—he merely became the latest in a long line of former Steelers returning to greener pastures after exploring the landscapes of other teams.

Particularly recently, several men who have spent time with the Steelers at some point have made the decision to come back. This is not even to mention the players who decided to retire after they were released rather than play for somebody else, such as Hines Ward, James Farrior, and Aaron Smith.

Even players such as Joey Porter, upon ending their careers, elected to ‘retire’ a Steeler informally, wishing they could have done so officially. Let us also not forget former Steelers quarterback Kordell Stewart announcing his retirement with the Steelers organization last year, despite not attempting a pass attempt in nearly a decade.

Among those who found their way back before Gay’s recent return on a three year, $4.5 million deal are Larry Foote, Bryant McFadden, Byron Leftwich, and Antwaan Randle El. What is it that makes the Steelers organization special, that makes players want to come back after seeing how things are done elsewhere? Here is what some of these players have had to say when they came back.

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