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The old days of Pittsburgh being known as a team unwilling to spend the big bucks need to buried and forgotten. Pittsburgh capped off an extremely busy offseason of signings by re-signing defensive end Brett Keisel to a four-year contract extension.By re-signing Keisel, Pittsburgh now has re-upped James Harrison, Max Starks, Heath Miller, Chris Kemoeatu, Trai Essex and Hines Ward during this offseason. While that still leaves a significant number of Steelers heading into the final year of their contracts (Casey Hampton, Willie Parker, Ryan Clark, Willie Colon and Jeff Reed are the most notable) it is a clear sign that Pittsburgh is willing to spend the money to keep the bulk of the Super Bowl champs together.
It's also interesting to note the difference between the approaches of the Patriots and the Steelers. New England is also has a significant list of potential free agents, but they have decided to hold off on contract extensions until the NFL and the players association reach a new collective bargaining agreement. Pittsburgh has gone the other way, locking up a large number of veterans. The Steelers' approach will work well if a) the two sides do not reach a new CBA and go into 2010 with no salary cap or b) the salary cap continues to grow at a significant rate.
But it does help lengthen the Steelers' window of being a Super Bowl contender. With Kiesel coming back, Pittsburgh is relatively set at defensive end with Aaron Smith under contract through 2010, first-round draft pick Ziggy Hood maturing nicely and Kiesel now lined up through 2013, Pittsburgh has made the defensive line a much bigger priority than it did during the Bill Cowher era, when defensive ends were usually much more interchangeable.
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