The Steelers have signed defensive end Aaron Smith to a 4 year, $25 million contract extension.  This was a good move by the Steelers as they’ve locked up a core player to their defense.  Smith played in all 16 games last season for the Steelers and he made 61 tackles, had 4.5 sacks, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.  Over his career, Smith has played in 118 games in his career and has made 330 tackles, sacked the QB 34 times, defensed 15 passes, forced 7 fumbles and recovered 7 fumbles.

The Steelers wasted their tight ends last season.  With all the trouble the offensive line had last season, Roethlisberger should have been looking more for Heath Miller who has a similar skill set to that of Baltimore’s Todd Heap.  Miller played in 16 games (all starts) last season and he caught 34 passes for 393 yards (11.6 avg) with 5 TD catches.  For his career, Miller has played in 32 games (31 starts) and he has caught 73 passes for 852 yards (11.7 avg) with 11 TD catches.

Jerame Tuman was mostly used as a blocker last season in the running game.  He played in 15 games (4 starts) last season and he caught 7 passes for 73 yards (10.4 avg) with 1 TD grab.  For his career, Tuman has played in 114 games (56 starts) and he has caught 42 passes for 491 yards (11.7 avg) with 6 TD grabs.

Jeff Hartings is retiring from football at the age of 34 after 11 seasons in the NFL.  He played on the Steelers from 2001-2006 and made the Pro Bowl in 2004 and 2005.  The Steelers will miss him because of his toughness and ability.  Chukky Okobi and Marvin Philip are the only centers on the Steelers roster as of today.