Steelers nose tackle Casey Hampton has eschewed unrestricted free-agency, signing a three-year $21.3 million contract just before yesterday's 4 p.m. deadline for designating franchise players. It’s a surprisingly large contract—especially when one considers Hampton’s age (33 in September), and the fact that he would have earned $7 million in salary this year had he been designated the team’s franchise player. In essence, the Steelers got no discount for giving Hampton a multi-year deal.
However, signing Hampton enabled Pittsburgh to use its franchise tag on kicker Jeff Reed, who will earn a salary of $2,814,000 in 2010.
With the future at nose tackle now assured, expect cornerback, middle linebacker, and perhaps free safety to be priority [...]
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