Off Season's Next Phase May Be Most Difficult For Steelers
By Jerry DiPaola

The next phase of the Steelers' off-season spending spree may be the most difficult.

Now, they have to find a way to re-sign three important defensive starters - Aaron Smith, Joey Porter and Lee Flowers - offensive linemen Alan Faneca and Wayne Gandy, and the team's fastest running back and No.

1 breakaway threat, Amos Zereoue, before the start of the season and within the confines of a tight salary cap. None have a contract for the 2003 season, but all would be attractive in next year's free agent market.

The first wave of signings this off-season appeared to work in the Steelers' favor.

There was little problem re-signing John Fiala, a backup linebacker who had no taste for testing the free-agent market.

The Steelers just sat back and allowed reserve cornerback Deshea Townsend to gauge his marketability around the NFL. When Townsend was convinced that no team was willing to pay him a starter's wage, the Steelers were more than willing to open their arms and welcome him back.

Townsend's signing bonus of nearly $1 million was a nice consolation prize, too.

There were some procedural machinations involved in bringing back All-Pro outside linebacker Jason Gildon. The team designated Gildon its franchise player for a few days just as an insurance policy while they hashed out details of a five-year, $23 million contract. In the end, Gildon signed it, and accepted the team's $6.5 million signing bonus in the bargain.

Replacing Earl Holmes with James Farrior and Kris Brown with Todd Peterson might actually be talent upgrades at inside linebacker and kicker, and the Steelers were able to accomplish both without releasing a player to open up cap space.

Matching the Cleveland Browns' contract offer to offensive lineman Oliver Ross was a no-brainer, too, because Ross wanted to stay in Pittsburgh and was willing to tear up the Browns' terms and accept a more cap-friendly deal from the Steelers.

The Steelers did move some money around under the cap by restructuring center Jeff Hartings' payment schedule for this year and reworking and extending tight end Mark Bruener's contract.

Backup guard Roger Duffy, backup wide receiver Will Blackwell and starting fullback Jon Witman were released early in the off-season.

With the draft behind them, the Steelers now must figure out how to sign those rookies and the six veterans that director of football operations Kevin Colbert publicly designated as their next targets. All with only about $700,000 left under the cap, the second-smallest figure in the league.

"We don't know how quick or how long it will take," Colbert said. "But (trying to sign them) will be the process as we go through the remainder of this off-season. In all those situations, there are possibly cap minuses, but there also are some situations where you could create some room by signing those guys to extensions."

Gandy, for example, counts $4.2 million against this year's cap, a number the Steelers would attempt to reduce in any new contract. Colbert said he hopes to have "something done" with each player before the start of the regular season in September, but it won't be easy. He acknowledged that there might be "additions and deletions" to the roster as the off-season progresses, so other players could get cut (possibly guard Rich Tylski and linebacker Mike Jones).

Smith and Porter are 26- and 25-year-olds who are talented enough and determined enough to become major impact players on the defense for a long time. Smith had eight sacks last season from his left defensive end position, a pass-rush luxury that the Steelers haven't enjoyed since Ray Seals left. Porter has 19 1/2 sacks in two seasons as a starter, and he is smart enough to know what double-digit sack artists command on the open market. If he demands a $5 million signing bonus, no one should be surprised.

Jerry DiPaola covers the Steelers and NFL for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.