Former Falcon Mathis signs with Steelers

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Posted 7:26AM on Friday, June 14, 2002

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to a one-year, $775,000 contract with Terance Mathis, a 12-year veteran who led the Atlanta Falcons in receiving last season. The deal enabled coach Bill Cowher to keep a promise he made as minicamp ended Thursday morning. Cowher told reporters the team would finalize a deal with either Mathis or Herman Moore, a free agent out of Detroit, by midafternoon. Cowher said he and Kevin Colbert, director of football operations, chose the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Mathis because he is a better fit for a slot receiver than Moore, who is 6-foot-4. The 35-year-old Mathis, who was with the Falcons when they lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999, is also healthier than Moore. Moore is only 32, but has seen limited action due to injuries the last three seasons. Mathis' deal includes a $25,000 signing bonus, but will count only $475,000 against the team's salary cap under new NFL rules designed to make it easier for teams to sign older veteran free agents, said Mathis' agent, Stephen Zucker. ``We're very happy,'' Zucker said. ``This is the one spot we eyeballed and wanted for him. He's good friends with a lot of guys on the team Dewayne Washington, Jerome Bettis, Kordell (Stewart). It's like family, a perfect fit for him.'' The Steelers have said they wanted a veteran receiver to add depth and to mentor their younger receivers, including Plaxico Burress, Troy Edwards and - most notably their highly touted second-round draft pick, Antwaan Randle El. A star quarterback at Indiana, Randle El will be a receiver for the Steelers. ``With his size and quickness and everything, he'll do fine,'' Mathis said of Randle El. ``But I know when I first came into the league, although I played receiver in college, I know I was raw and I had some guys teach me the ins and outs.'' ``I think I can teach him the kinds of things that will make him come along faster than people expect,'' Mathis said. ``What (Mathis) wants and doesn't have is a Super Bowl ring,'' Zucker said. ``He's been to a Super Bowl but he wants to win one.'' That's one of the few things missing from Mathis' resume, which includes 666 career receptions for 8,591 yards and 61 touchdowns. Last season, his eighth with the Atlanta Falcons, Mathis caught 51 passes for 564 yards and two touchdowns. Cowher and Colbert say they began thinking about Mathis in February when he became a free agent. The feeling was mutual, Mathis said. ``Since February for me, too,'' Mathis said. ``Watching the AFC Championship game, they were two special teams plays away from going to the Super Bowl. Those are the types of games I want to be in.'' Mathis' deal will give the Steelers 79 players on their roster, not including the six playing in NFL Europe that are exempt from being counted toward the 80-man limit. The Steelers can sign another player, but Colbert said it wouldn't be former wide receiver Will Blackwell, who'd been practicing with the team this spring. Coach Bill Cowher also weighed in on another roster move that won't be made. ``There has been speculation about us signing a veteran player and then consequently cutting Troy Edwards,'' Cowher said. ``That's absolutely not true.'' With minicamp over, the Steelers will break until they open training camp July 24 at St. Vincent College near Latrobe.