Willie Parker may well play his final home game in a Steelers' uniform Sunday.
If Parker, who is in the final year of his contract, signs elsewhere after the season, he will leave Pittsburgh as one of the more distinguished running backs in Steelers history — though probably not on the terms he envisioned.
Parker lost his starting job to Rashard Mendenhall earlier this season, and the sixth-year veteran has seen only spot duty since the middle of October.
What he hasn't done since a toe injury and Mendenhall's emergence left him with a vastly reduced role is sound off or pout. That has earned the Steelers' third all-time leading rusher the admiration of his coaches and teammates.
"Willie's the same," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "He's not been bitter or standoffish. He's embraced it."
"I'm not a cancer to any team," Parker said. "I keep a smile on my face when I come to work. Sometimes you want to be back against the wall so you can come out fighting."
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