The agent for Jerome Bettis will meet with the Steelers' Art Rooney II Monday to begin negotiations on a new contract.
Lamont Smith is scheduled to arrive today from his home in Colorado. He will attend tomorrow's game between the Steelers and Oakland Raiders.
He and Rooney, the team's vice president and general counsel, have a 3:30 p.m. meeting scheduled Monday to begin contract talks. The two had talked more than a month ago on the telephone and agreed to begin negotiations on a new contract for Bettis later in the season.
Bettis, 28, is in the final year of a four-year contract that paid him an average of $3.65 million a season, including a $4 million signing bonus when he remained with the Steelers after becoming a free agent after the 1996 season. Rooney and Smith negotiated that deal.
Bettis ranks fifth in the AFC with 1,019 yards rushing, his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season and seventh in his eight years in the NFL. He is on pace for 1,359 yards this season.
In his five seasons with the Steelers, Bettis has become the franchise's second all-time rushing leader with 6,391 yards. His 9,482 yards rushing, including his three seasons with the Rams, rank 14th on the all-time NFL list after he surpassed Hall of Famer Earl Campbell last Sunday.
Bettis has played through a series of injuries this season without missing a game. He has missed only two in his five seasons with the Steelers. His eight rushing touchdowns this season are tied for fourth in the AFC, and he has not fumbled in his last 421 carries nor lost one in more than a year.
Bettis' agent begins work on new deal 
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