Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Steelers sign Hartwig to play center
On Tuesday evening, the Steelers signed Justin Hartwig (75) to almost certainly replace Sean Mahan as the team’s starting center (Hartwig can also play guard). Hartwig played for the Carolina Panthers for the last two seasons, but was particularly ineffective last season. Fortunately for the Steelers, he cannot possibly be worse than Mahan was this past season.
On top of Hartwig’s signing, the team retained Chris Kemoeatu, who will probably start at left guard, and Trai Essex, who will probably be the team’s backup at the tackle positions. With the signing of Hartwig, Mahan will move into a reserve center/guard role that he is probably more appropriate for than the starting position that was foisted upon him at the beginning of last season.
The signing of Hartwig means that the Steelers have moved to upgrade at center through free agency two years in a row, but the length of the contract, two years, also indicates that they do not see Hartwig as a long term addition and will probably move to replace him in the draft either this year or next year. The contract is also only for $4 million, meaning that it will have very little effect on the salary cap.
I’m not quite sure what this signing means for Max Starks, as I believe that, including Starks’ $7 million or so that he was guaranteed due to his transition tag, the team is now over the salary cap. Some veterans will either need to have their salaries reworked or be released.
With the signing of Hartwig, the Steelers line currently shapes up like this:
LT: Marvel Smith, LG: Kemoeatu, C: Hartwig, RG: Simmons, RT: Willie Colon or Starks
Backups: Mahan, Essex, and Colon/Starks
- I somehow managed to not post about this earlier, but the signing of Keyaron Fox is a solid one. The former Kansas City Chiefs special teams standout is expected to continue in that role as well as a backup at all linebacker positions for the Steelers. Fox is a classic Steeler signing, someone who was underutilized in his former role and could perform if asked to take on a greater role.
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