The Pittsburgh Steelers announced on Monday that they have another one of their nine draft picks under contract as sixth-round linebacker Vince Williams has now signed his rookie contract.
Williams, who was the second of the two players selected by the Steelers in the sixth-round, is out of Florida State and was the 206th overall pick in the draft . He played in 50 college games and made 26 starts in his final two seasons, and recorded 140 tackles, 13.5 TFLs and three sacks.
Financial terms of the four year deal have yet to be announced, but thanks to the slotting system, Williams\’ contract will likely total out at around $2,238,000 and it should include a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $78,000. Williams will have base salaries of $405,000, $495,000, $585,000 and $675,000.
Last week, the Steelers announced the signing of Syracuse safety Shamarko Thomas, who they drafted in the fourth-round.
Williams received praise for the leadership that he exhibited during the Steelers rookie camp from Bob Labriola of steelers.com and he will look to build on that this week when the first OTA session gets underway Tuesday in Pittsburgh. The Steelers are hoping that Williams can become a three-down linebacker on defense and eventually succeed Larry Foote inside.
