Wilson: Steelers announce Hampton deal, franchise Reed

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pittsburgh Steelers have locked up nose guard Casey Hampton to a three-year, contract, director of football operations Kevin Colbert confirmed today at the NFL scouting combine.

The deal is worth $21 million and includes $11 million in guaranteed money.

"We did reach a deal with Casey Hampton," Colbert said. "It was very important to our organization to have a player of Casey's caliber. We hope he's here for the rest of his career. Casey has been a big part of our success and we still think he has a lot of football left in him. It meant a lot to the organization."

Signing Hampton follows the trend of a lot of value being placed around the league in big, run-stuffing anchors in the middle of the 3-4 defense.

"I can't speak to the other teams that franchised their ow players," Colbert said. "In our case, Casey Hampton was and is the anchor of our defense. Defensive linemen in general are tough to find, especially for the 3-4 defense.

"This draft, however, there's more defensive linemen than any I can  remember. Not only the depth, but the quality of that depth as well."

Colbert also announced that the Steelers have designated kicker Jeff Reed as their franchise player.

"Our goal is to lock up Jeff long-term," Colbert said. "He understands that."

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