Steelers, Townsend agree to four-year deal
The Steelers continued to keep the NFL's No. 1 defense together Friday when they agreed to contract terms with Deshea Townsend, the chief backup to starting cornerbacks Dewayne Washington and Chad Scott.
Townsend, 26, will sign the four-year, $4.2 million deal when he returns to Pittsburgh in a few days to prepare for the coaching sessions that begin next month. The contract includes a signing bonus of about $1 million and some playing-time incentives that could increase its ultimate value.
The Steelers structured the deal to count almost $800,000 against this year's salary cap, less than $300,000 more than Townsend cost them last year. He will earn a $525,000 base salary in 2002, the minimum for a five-year veteran.
Townsend, a fourth-round draft choice in 1998 from Alabama, was looking for a starting job in free agency, but he said that he is pleased to be returning to the Steelers.
"I wanted to stay in Pittsburgh the entire time," he said. "But you have to get out there and weigh your options."
He visited with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons and Houston Texans also contacted his agent, Allan Wade. In the end, Townsend discovered that the Steelers presented the best opportunity for him.
"We are on the verge of doing something big in Pittsburgh," he said. "I want to be a part of it."
Townsend will remain a backup this season, but he will be on the field — barring injury — almost half the time. He started one game last year when Scott was injured, but he participated in about 40 percent of the snaps as a member of the Steelers' passing-down defense.
"That's a lot for a cornerback," he said. "They know they have a guy they can depend on."
He has five starts in his career, including four in 1999, and two interceptions — both recorded in the final regular-season game in 2001.
The Steelers have signed four of their free agents this off-season, including Townsend, offensive lineman Oliver Ross and linebackers Jason Gildon and John Fiala. Plus, they gave tight end Mark Bruener a new five-year contract when he still had one year remaining on his previous deal.
The Steelers have another decision to make on kicker Kris Brown, who signed a four-year, $4.7 million offer sheet with the Houston Texans last week. The Steelers have until Monday at 4 p.m. to match the offer, or let Brown go for a seventh-round draft choice.
Brown's deal contains $750,000 in guaranteed money in the final two years. He won't get that money until 2004 and 2005, but it must be paid immediately into an escrow fund for future disbursement.
Steelers president Dan Rooney is opposed to contracts that contain guaranteed money beyond a signing bonus, and he voiced those concerns this week at the NFL owners' meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
