Signing free agent still possible
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The Steelers have re-signed eight of their free agents in one form or another since the period began Feb. 27, yet no others.
That could end ... one of these days.
"We don't look at that as the barometer of whether we're having a good offseason or not," Steelers president Art Rooney II said of the lack of signing of other free agents. Yet, "I would imagine we will" eventually sign at least one.
Rooney said negotiations to extend the contract of linebacker James Harrison are ongoing.
"Those things they do tend to drag when you're trying to extend somebody, so I'm still optimistic," Rooney said.
He cited the four offensive linemen they have re-signed as a key to what the Steelers have accomplished so far in free agency.
"I think the fact that we've kept the offensive line intact is a big position," he said. "We've seen what it's like to have a lot of change on the offensive line, and it's not something you want. I think the fact that we'll have it intact for this year is a positive, so we're pleased about that."
The Steelers, he said, are "OK" under the salary cap.
"But we're going to have to be careful from here on it. Obviously we've got some things with our own players that we'd like to do. We'd like to get James extended; we'd like to get Max [Starks] done. There's still pieces we've still got to get put in place."
First Published March 20, 2009 12:00 am
