The Steelers have re-signed 30-year old safety Ryan Clark to a 4-year, $17 million dollar deal.  Clark played in 15 games for the Steelers last season and he made 89 tackles, defensed 8 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  He has played in 48 games in his four years with the Steelers in which he has made 270 tackles, defensed 20 passes, has 1 sack, forced 1 fumble and he has 5 interceptions.  This was a smart move for the Steelers as Clark has really been a solid player for them the last few years.

The Steelers have signed 30-year old WR Antwan Randle El to a 3-year deal.  Randle El played in all 16 games for the Redskins last season and he caught 50 passes for 530 yards (10.6 avg).  He also returned 17 punts for 102 yards (6.0 avg) last year.  Randle El has now played in 127 games in his NFL career and he has caught 348 passes for 4,214 yards (12.1 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 78 times for 436 yards (5.6 ypc) in his NFL career.  Randle El has also completed 20 of 25 passes (80%) for 281 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs (153.1 QB Rating) in his NFL career.  That’s not all either as Randle El has returned 297 punts for 2,501 yards (8.4 avg) with 5 TD returns and he has returned 79 kickoffs for 1,759 yards (22.3 avg) with 1 TD return.  I like this signing for the Steelers as Randle El can fill a lot of roles for them in 2010 and beyond.

The Steelers have franchised 30-year old kicker Jeff Reed.  Reed played in 16 games for the Steelers last season and he made 27 of 31 field goals (87.1%).  He also made all 41 of his extra point attempts finishing with 122 points.  Reed has now played in 118 games in his career with the Steelers and he has connected on 189 of 227 field goals (83.3%).  He has also made 288 of 291 extra points good for 855 points in his career.  This was a good move for the Steelers who now have one less thing to worry about this off season.

The Steelers have re-signed 32-year old NT Casey Hampton to a 3-year, $21.3 million contract with $11 million bucks in guaranteed dollars.  Hampton played in 16 games for the Steelers last season and he made 43 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and he had 2.5 sacks.  Hampton has played in 129 games in his career with the Steelers and he has made 297 tackles, forced 3 fumbles, defensed 3 passes and he has 8 sacks.  The Steelers were smart to bring him back and he is the best run defender on the team.

You can tell it has been a down year for the Steelers when they are only sending two players to the Pro Bowl.  31-year old linebacker James Harrison has played in 15 games for the Steelers this season and he has made 76 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, forced 5 fumbles, defensed 2 passes and he has 10 sacks.  It was Harrison’s second awesome season in a row and it’s too bad the Steelers didn’t know what they had in him earlier in his career.  32-year old NT Casey Hampton is back in the Pro Bowl due mostly to his name recognition.  He has played in 15 games for the Steelers this season and he has made 40 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and he has 2.5 sacks.